Body & Beauty / Compounds / Hexanal

Hexanal on your skin: a safety profile

Moderate risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Fragrance aldehyde — skin sensitizer class; EU requires disclosure for select members; sensitization potency varies by structure; oxidation on shelf increases allergenicity

What is hexanal?

Also known as: Caproaldehyde, Hexaldehyde, Caproic aldehyde, n-Hexanal.

IUPAC name
hexanal
CAS number
66-25-1
Molecular formula
C6H12O
Molecular weight
100.16 g/mol
SMILES
CCCCCC=O
PubChem CID
6184

Risk for people

Moderate risk

Fragrance aldehyde — skin sensitizer class; EU requires disclosure for select members; sensitization potency varies by structure; oxidation on shelf increases allergenicity

Regulatory consensus

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

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IFRA2024restrictionIFRA 51st Amendment — concentration limits for leave-on/rinse-off
FDA1965GRASGenerally Recognized as Safe as food flavoring (21 CFR 172.515)

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 hexanal

  • Personal Care — perfume, soap, shampoo, cosmetics
  • Consumer Products — cleaning products, candles, air fresheners
  • 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 Hexanal:

  • 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×
  • Cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol)
    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 hexanal?

Hexanal appears in: perfume (Personal care); soap (Personal care); cleaning products (Consumer products); candles (Consumer products); perfume (Fragrance).

See Hexanal in the body app

Look up products containing hexanal, 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 →