Baby Safety / Compounds / Phenyl salicylate (salol)

Is Phenyl salicylate (salol) safe for babies and kids?

Context-dependent for kids

(Babies-specific data is limited; this page draws from human pregnant context.) Prenatal exposure to Phenyl salicylate (salol) through personal care products may affect fetal development. Some fragrance chemicals are sensitizers or endocrine-active compounds with transplacental transfer.

What is phenyl salicylate (salol)?

The IUPAC name is phenyl 2-hydroxybenzoate.

Also known as: phenyl 2-hydroxybenzoate, Phenyl salicylate, Salol, Phenol salicylate.

IUPAC name
phenyl 2-hydroxybenzoate
CAS number
118-55-8
Molecular formula
C13H10O3
Molecular weight
214.22 g/mol
SMILES
C1=CC=C(C=C1)OC(=O)C2=CC=CC=C2O
PubChem CID
8361

Risk for babies

Context-dependent

Prenatal exposure to Phenyl salicylate (salol) through personal care products may affect fetal development. Some fragrance chemicals are sensitizers or endocrine-active compounds with transplacental transfer.

No specific reproductive toxicity data identified, but pregnancy-specific safety data is limited for most chemicals. Precautionary minimization of exposure is recommended.

What to do: Minimize exposure during pregnancy and lactation. Consult healthcare provider regarding specific risks. Consider alternative products with lower hazard profiles.

Risk for pregnant and nursing people

Context-dependent

Prenatal exposure to Phenyl salicylate (salol) through personal care products may affect fetal development. Some fragrance chemicals are sensitizers or endocrine-active compounds with transplacental transfer.

No specific reproductive toxicity data identified, but pregnancy-specific safety data is limited for most chemicals. Precautionary minimization of exposure is recommended.

What to do: Minimize exposure during pregnancy and lactation. Consult healthcare provider regarding specific risks. Consider alternative products with lower hazard profiles.

Regulatory consensus

1 regulatory bodyhas classified Phenyl salicylate (salol).

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EDC Assessment2024Suspected 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 kids encounter phenyl salicylate (salol)

  • Personal Care — sunscreen (historical), cosmetics
  • Consumer Products — plastics UV stabilizer
  • 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 Phenyl salicylate (salol):

  • Unscented formulation; Lower-sensitization structural analog
    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 phenyl salicylate (salol)?

Phenyl salicylate (salol) appears in: sunscreen (historical) (Personal care); cosmetics (Personal care); plastics UV stabilizer (Consumer products); perfume (Fragrance); cologne (Fragrance).

See Phenyl salicylate (salol) in the baby app

Look up products containing phenyl salicylate (salol), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in baby 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 →