“Limonene?”Here!citrus terpene
Appears in 1 scanned product.
In personal care
A fragrance compound naturally found in citrus peels, used to give products a citrus scent, either extracted from natural sources or made synthetically.
Why it’s used
Adds a fresh citrus note to fragrance and can also help dissolve other ingredients.
What the evidence says
Limonene itself is not typically irritating, but it oxidizes on exposure to air over time, and those oxidation products are recognized skin sensitizers. The SCCS and EU regulations require it be labeled as an allergen above certain concentrations for this reason.
Context
Risk depends heavily on how fresh and well-stored the product is, and increases with leave-on use; the EU requires it be individually listed on labels above 0.001% in leave-on and 0.01% in rinse-off products because of its allergen status.
Rumors
Its air-oxidation products cause allergic skin sensitization.
Supports — suggestivehealth and safety evidence
Studied in: dermatitis patients patch tested in a clinical setting.
Measured as an outcome.
- Contact allergy to oxidized linalool and oxidized limonene: Patch testing in consecutive patients with dermatitis. (Peer-reviewed) · Foundation-funded