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Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Sodium Salicylate in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Sodium Salicylate is a cosmetic ingredient that keeps the product from spoiling. The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 351 products, most often bath and shower.

By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 3 sourcesHow we check

What does Sodium Salicylate do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Sodium Salicylate keeps the product from spoiling and makes alcohol undrinkable. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: preservative and denaturant.

preservativedenaturant

What other names and numbers does Sodium Salicylate have?

CAS number
54-21-7
EC number
200-198-0
CosIng reference
38052

Is Sodium Salicylate restricted in the EU?

It is allowed, on a list with limits. The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount (Annex V of Regulation 1223/2009, entry 3).

The annex entry sets the exact limits, the products it may be used in and any warning the label must carry.

Which products contain Sodium Salicylate?

Open Beauty Facts finds Sodium Salicylate in the ingredient lists of 351 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often bath and shower, shower gels and shampoos.

  • Bath and shower47
  • Shower gels44
  • Shampoos44
  • Hair care22

Products with it, by country of sale: France 68 · Germany 60 · Australia 60 · Norway 57.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Sodium Salicylate turns up, not how much of the market it is.

On these listsPreservatives

Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dermatologists, dietitians and doctors

Sources

The job, the description and the EU annex entry are CosIng’s; the fragrance allergens are the EU Annex III names Bravoora’s label checker reads; the product counts are Open Beauty Facts’.

  1. European Commission: CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (functions, description, EU annex entry)
  2. Open Beauty Facts: product database, 77,506 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL
  3. EU Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (the annexes)

Contains information from Open Beauty Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check

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