Body & Beauty / Compounds / Citral

Citral on your skin: a safety profile

Moderate risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Skin sensitizer; EU designated allergen (mandatory disclosure ≥0.001% in leave-on products); phototoxic potential; oxidation increases allergenicity; cross-reacts with other fragrance aldehydes

What is citral?

The IUPAC name is (2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal.

Also known as: (2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal, geranialdehyde, Lemsyn GB, 3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienal.

IUPAC name: (2E)-3,7-dimethylocta-2,6-dienal
CAS number: 5392-40-5
Molecular formula: C10H16O
Molecular weight: 152.23 g/mol
SMILES: CC(=CCCC(=CC=O)C)C
PubChem CID: 638011

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Skin sensitizer; EU designated allergen (mandatory disclosure ≥0.001% in leave-on products); phototoxic potential; oxidation increases allergenicity; cross-reacts with other fragrance aldehydes

Regulatory consensus

3 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Citral. The classifications differ — that's the data.

Agency	Year	Classification	Notes
IFRA	2020	restriction	IFRA restriction — strong sensitizer
EU_COSMETICS	2009	allergen_disclosure	EU Annex III original 26 allergens
FDA	1965	GRAS	GRAS food flavoring

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter citral

Personal Care — soap, shampoo, lotion, perfume, cosmetics
Consumer Products — detergent, candles, air fresheners, cleaning products
Food — lemon/citrus flavoring (GRAS)
Fragrance — perfume, cologne, scented personal care products, household fragrance products, candles
Identified in Fragrance Ingredient Safety Priority Research database (2,325 ingredients)

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Citral:

Cyclamen aldehyde
Trade-offs: Alternative fragrance ingredient; individual safety profile should be assessed per IFRA standards; sensitization potential varies by compound; patch testing recommended for sensitive individuals.

Relative cost: 1.2-2×
Hydroxycitronellal (lower sensitization)
Trade-offs: Removes 95-99% of dissolved contaminants including metals, PFAS, nitrates; wastes 2-4 gallons per gallon produced (improving with newer systems); removes beneficial minerals; $0.05-0.25/gallon; requires pre-treatment for longevity.

Relative cost: 1.2-2×
Citronellol
Trade-offs: Removes 95-99% of dissolved contaminants including metals, PFAS, nitrates; wastes 2-4 gallons per gallon produced (improving with newer systems); removes beneficial minerals; $0.05-0.25/gallon; requires pre-treatment for longevity.

Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain citral?

Citral appears in: soap (Personal care); shampoo (Personal care); detergent (Consumer products); candles (Consumer products); lemon/citrus flavoring (GRAS) (Food).

Why do regulators disagree about citral?

Citral has been classified by 3 agencies including IFRA, EU_COSMETICS, FDA, with differing conclusions. Regulators apply different standards of evidence (animal data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds), which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. See the regulatory consensus table on this page for the full picture.

See Citral in the body app

Look up products containing citral, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (1)

PubChem Compound Database (2026) — database

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →