P-cresol is a cresol that consists of toluene substituted by a hydroxy group at position 4.
How much products actually contain
No product states its amount yet.
Of the products containing it, 1 list it before the 1% line and 4 after it (usually 1% or less).
Products using this ingredient
5 of 5 confirmed · likeliest to carry enough first
Definition
P-cresol is a cresol that consists of toluene substituted by a hydroxy group at position 4. It is a metabolite of aromatic amino acid metabolism produced by intestinal microflora in humans and animals. It has a role as a uremic toxin, an Escherichia coli metabolite and a human metabolite.
Source: PubChem
US FDA substance register · UNII 1MXY2UM8NV · registered name Paracresol · single chemical substance
Cosmetic roles
Safety & regulatory references
- Restricted
- International fragrance standard (IFRA)
Source: IFRA fragrance standards
Korea’s toxic-substance GHS classification: Danger · H301 (category 3) · H314 (category 1) · H311 (category 3)
Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist · prohibited in cosmetics
Other restriction: ban substances that deplete the ozone layer
Source: EU CosIng ingredient list
Reviewed by CIR: Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Sodium p-Chloro-m-Cresol, p-Chloro-m-Cresol, Chlorothymol, Mixed Cresols, m-Cresol, o-Cresol, p-Cresol, Isopropyl Cresols, Thymol, o-Cymen-5-ol and Carvacrol
CIR reviewed this ingredient and flagged its status as: Insufficient data ingredients with no uses reported to FDA's Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP) (insufficient data or use not supported — CIR's own classification, not a full safety-as-used conclusion).
More data — names, identifiers, properties, test records, literature
Names & identifiers
- CAS No.chemical registry number
- 106-44-5
- EC No.EU chemical inventory number
- 203-398-6
- DTXSIDUS EPA chemical ID
- DTXSID7021869
- DTXCIDUS EPA compound ID
- DTXCID101869
- IUPAC
- 4-Methylphenol
- Molecular formula
- C7H8O
- Molecular weight
- 108.14 g/mol
Measured properties
- Appearance
- solid
- Melting/freezing point
- 35 ℃
- Initial boiling point and range
- 202 ℃
- Flash point
- 86 ℃
- Upper/lower flammability or explosive limits
- 1 % (150℃)
- Vapour pressure
- 0.147 ㎩ (25℃)
- Water solubility
- 1.9 g/100㎖
- Vapour density
- 1
- Relative density
- 1.034 (20℃)
- n-Octanol/water partition coefficient (Kow)
- 1.94
- Auto-ignition temperature
- 555 ℃
- Viscosity
- 4480000 (25℃)
- Molecular weight
- 108.13
Values measured on the substance itself. The KOSHA data are a reference for writing and reviewing safety data sheets, not a specification for a commercial raw material.
Source: KOSHA safety data sheets (Korea)
What products actually use it for
What the 44 products reported to the US EPA with this ingredient use it for. Products outside cosmetics are included, so the top few rows are its main uses.
- Fragrance21
- Solvent4
- Cleaning agent2
- Flavouring and nutrient2
- Monomers2
- Intermediate2
- Antioxidant1
- Catalyst1
9 other uses
- No specific technical function1
- Biocide1
- Dye1
- Corrosion inhibitor1
- Preservative1
- Photosensitive agent1
- Pharmaceutical (EPA)1
- Processing aids not otherwise specified1
- Surfactant (surface active agent)1
Source: US EPA CompTox dashboard
Irritation and sensitisation studies
7 skin studies and 2 eye studies are on record.
The study conclusions largely agree (100%). These tests are on the raw material itself; irritation at the amount in a finished product is a different question.
See all 9 studies
- Skin Corr. 1B
Skin Irritation · Authoritative - Classification not possible
Skin Sensitization · Screening - Skin corrosion/irritation - Category 1
Skin Irritation · Screening - Category 1
Skin Irritation · Screening - Skin corrosion - category 1A
Skin Irritation · Screening - Not likely to be sensitizing
skin sensitisation: in vivo (non-LLNA) · Screening · equivalent or similar to OECD Guideline 406 (Skin Sensitisation) - Category 8.2C (Category 1C)
Skin Irritation · Read Across - Category 1
Eye Irritation · Screening - Category 8.3A (Category 1)
Eye Irritation · Read Across
Source: US EPA CompTox dashboard
Related literature
- Lactobacillus gasseri Decreases p-Cresol Levels in Serum and Cecum and Improves Skin Characteristics in Mice Fed with Tyrosine-Rich Diets · 2025
- Cerebrovascular damage caused by the gut microbe/host co-metabolite p-cresol sulfate is prevented by blockade of the EGF receptor · 2024
- Effective p-cresol removal through catalytic liquid-phase oxidation under moderate conditions using Pt/CeO2-ZrO2-SnO2/SBA-16 as a catalyst · 2020
- Uremic solutes of indoxyl sulfate and p-cresol enhance protease-activated receptor-2 expression in vitro and in vivo in keratinocytes · 2020
- The uremic molecule p‐cresol is lowered after supplementing the diet of chronic kidney disease patients with fiber · 2013
Linked databases 21
- Australian Industrial Chemicals Inventory (AICIS)
- ChEBI
- ChEMBL
- EU CosIng ingredient list 2
- Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist
- IFRA fragrance standards
- Korea Cosmetic Association ingredient dictionary
- Korea toxic substances GHS register (NIER)
- KOSHA safety data sheets (Korea)
- MFDS (Korea) cosmetic ingredient register 2
- NIST Chemistry WebBook
- PubChem
- Tlooto literature search 2 3 4 5
- UniChem cross-reference IDs
- US Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) 2 3
- US EPA CompTox dashboard 2
- US EPA DSSTox chemical database
- US FDA substance registration (GSRS)
- US FDA Unique Ingredient Identifier (UNII)
- Wikidata
- Wikipedia · English · Chinese