Body & Beauty / Compounds / Musk xylene

Musk xylene on your skin: a safety profile

Context-dependent

Safety profile for Musk xylene relevant to people.

What is musk xylene?

Also known as: Musk xylol, Xylene musk, 2,4,6-Trinitro-1,3-dimethyl-5-tert-butylbenzene, 5-tert-Butyl-2,4,6-trinitro-m-xylene.

CAS number
81-15-2
Molecular formula
C12H15N3O6
Molecular weight
297.26 g/mol
SMILES
CC1=C(C(=C(C(=C1[N+](=O)[O-])C(C)(C)C)[N+](=O)[O-])C)[N+](=O)[O-]
PubChem CID
62329

Risk for people

Context-dependent

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Musk xylene.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EDC Assessment—Suspected endocrine disruptor

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 musk xylene

  • Personal Care — perfume, soap, cosmetics
  • Consumer Products — cleaning products, candles

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Musk xylene:

  • Lower-sensitization structural analog; Unscented formulation
    Trade-offs: Eliminates allergen risk entirely; consumer acceptance varies (some associate scent with cleanliness/efficacy); growing market segment; regulatory advantage in EU (no IFRA compliance needed).
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain musk xylene?

Musk xylene appears in: perfume (Personal care); soap (Personal care); cleaning products (Consumer products); candles (Consumer products).

See Musk xylene in the body app

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

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (1)
  1. PubChem (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 →