Body & Beauty / Compounds / Hydroxycitronellal

Hydroxycitronellal on your skin: a safety profile

Elevated risk

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Top fragrance contact allergen globally; strong skin sensitizer; EU designated allergen; common lily-of-the-valley note in perfumery; prevalence in consumer products makes avoidance difficult

What is hydroxycitronellal?

The IUPAC name is 7-hydroxy-3,7-dimethyloctanal.

Also known as: 7-hydroxy-3,7-dimethyloctanal, 7-Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellal hydrate, 3,7-Dimethyl-7-hydroxyoctanal.

IUPAC name
7-hydroxy-3,7-dimethyloctanal
CAS number
107-75-5
Molecular formula
C10H20O2
Molecular weight
172.26 g/mol
SMILES
CC(CCCC(C)(C)O)CC=O
PubChem CID
7888

Risk for people

Elevated risk

Top fragrance contact allergen globally; strong skin sensitizer; EU designated allergen; common lily-of-the-valley note in perfumery; prevalence in consumer products makes avoidance difficult

Regulatory consensus

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

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
IFRA2020restrictionIFRA restriction — sensitization limits
EU_COSMETICS2009allergen_disclosureEU Annex III original 26 allergens

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 hydroxycitronellal

  • Personal Care — perfume, deodorant, soap, lotion, 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 Hydroxycitronellal:

  • Lyral-free muguet blends
    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: Lower (ingredient elimination)
  • 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×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain hydroxycitronellal?

Hydroxycitronellal appears in: perfume (Personal care); deodorant (Personal care); perfume (Fragrance); cologne (Fragrance).

See Hydroxycitronellal in the body app

Look up products containing hydroxycitronellal, 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 →