Cinnamic Alcohol

Briefly: Cinnamic alcohol is a flavoring and fragrance. SkinSAFE will help you avoid most common sources.

In Detail: Cinnamic alcohol is used in a variety of cosmetics and foods for its cinnamon flavor and sweet, floral scent (similar to hyacinth), and for its fixative properties.

Avoiding use of cosmetics, medicaments, and household products with added fragrance will help prevent allergic contact dermatitis due to cinnamic alcohol. Although some foods contain cinnamic alcohol, ingestion of this flavoring rarely causes dermatitis on the skin.

Skin contact with cinnamic alcohol is required for it to cause a rash. Discontinuation of exposure to products containing cinnamic alcohol should result in improvement and/or resolution of your dermatitis. By law, all products made in the U.S. for topical use have the ingredients listed either on the product package or the box that contains it, so check the labeling of your skincare products for this ingredient. If there is not enough information, ask your pharmacist or retailer, or contact the company directly. At work, request a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to help identify potential sources of exposure.