Body & Beauty / Compounds / Evernia prunastri (oak moss)

Evernia prunastri (oak moss) on your skin: a safety profile

High risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) STRONG skin sensitizer — the #1 fragrance contact allergen (oak moss absolute); contains atranol and chloroatranol; EU designated allergen; IFRA severely restricted; iconic chypre fragrance note

What is evernia prunastri (oak moss)?

CAS number
90028-68-5

Risk for people

High risk

STRONG skin sensitizer — the #1 fragrance contact allergen (oak moss absolute); contains atranol and chloroatranol; EU designated allergen; IFRA severely restricted; iconic chypre fragrance note

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Evernia prunastri (oak moss). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IFRA2020restrictionIFRA restriction — atranol/chloroatranol limits
EU_COSMETICS2009allergen_disclosureEU Annex III allergen

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 evernia prunastri (oak moss)

  • Personal Care — perfume, cologne, aftershave, soap, cosmetics
  • 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 Evernia prunastri (oak moss):

  • Evernyl
    Trade-offs: Zero point-of-use emissions; shifts emissions to power generation (grid-dependent); lower operating cost; higher capital cost; infrastructure requirements (charging, grid capacity); rapidly improving economics.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Veramoss
    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×
  • Synthetic moss accords
    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×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain evernia prunastri (oak moss)?

Evernia prunastri (oak moss) appears in: perfume (Personal care); cologne (Personal care); perfume (Fragrance); cologne (Fragrance).

See Evernia prunastri (oak moss) in the body app

Look up products containing evernia prunastri (oak moss), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (1)
  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 →