beauty
cleaning
food
industrial

Anhydrous lactose

CAS 16984-38-6

Also registered as 9 other CAS numbers

1336-90-9 · 35396-14-6 · 36570-80-6 · 73824-63-2 · 89466-76-2 · 200734-90-3 · 396716-09-9 · 1065027-17-9 · 63-42-3

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Anhydrous lactose in plain language

What it is: On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “Lactose”.
Also known as Lactose · Lactose anhydrous · 4-O-beta-D-Galactopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranose · 4-O-β-D-Galactopyranosyl-β-D-glucopyranose · 6-tetrakis(oxidanyl)hexanal · D- (+)- Lactose
Show all 25 names
D-Glucose, 4-O-.beta.-D-galactopyranosyl- · D-Glucose, 4-O-b-D-galactopyranosyl- · D-glucose. 4-.ortho.-.beta.-D-galactopyranosyl · Dkxnbnkwczzmjt-jvcrwlnrsa-n · Galactinum · HY-B2123 · HY-B2123R · Lactopress anhydrous · Lbl · Lactose (Standard) · Supertab 21AN · Supertab 22AN · Supertab 24AN · Tablettose · UNII-3SY5LH9PMK · beta-D-Glucopyranose, 4-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl- · lactose (for preparation of theraputic dose) · lactosum · β-D-Glucopyranose, 4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a humectant and a skin-conditioning agent.
Humectant
Skin conditioning
Surfactant
Thickener
Solvent
Fragrance
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Anhydrous lactose appears in these published regulatory listings.

Inactive ingredient in US drugs

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Pharma
Food
Industrial

USFDAinactive ingredient database21 entries — 5 administration routes
- Route: BUCCAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Maximum daily exposure: 48 mgSource →
- Route: INTRAMUSCULAR; Dosage form: INJECTION, POWDER, FOR SOLUTION; Potency: 25 mgSource →
- Route: INTRAVENOUS; Dosage form: INJECTION, POWDER, FOR SOLUTION; Potency: 25 mgSource →
- Route: INTRAVENOUS; Dosage form: INJECTION, POWDER, LYOPHILIZED, FOR SOLUTION; Maximum daily exposure: 375 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: CAPSULE; Maximum daily exposure: 2490 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: CAPSULE, DELAYED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 360 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: CAPSULE, EXTENDED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 869 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: GRANULE, FOR SUSPENSION; Maximum daily exposure: 3025 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: POWDER; Maximum daily exposure: 5 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: POWDER, FOR SUSPENSION; Maximum daily exposure: 469 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: SUSPENSION; Potency: 15.69 mg/5mlSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Maximum daily exposure: 1800 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, CHEWABLE; Maximum daily exposure: 2850 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, COATED; Maximum daily exposure: 504 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, DELAYED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 1083 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, EXTENDED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 529 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, FILM COATED; Maximum daily exposure: 2906 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, FILM COATED, EXTENDED RELEASE; Maximum daily exposure: 316 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, FOR SUSPENSION; Maximum daily exposure: 15 mgSource →
- Route: ORAL; Dosage form: TABLET, ORALLY DISINTEGRATING; Maximum daily exposure: 410 mgSource →
- Route: SUBLINGUAL; Dosage form: TABLET; Potency: 128 mgSource →
EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 180 composition records across product categories including Food and drug, Laboratory supplies, Pet and animal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Humectant, Softener and conditioner, Fragrance.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 180 composition records across product categories including Food and drug, Laboratory supplies, Pet and animal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Humectant, Softener and conditioner, Fragrance.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Anhydrous lactose. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Anhydrous lactose yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

7 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated october 13, 2011
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA Inactive Ingredient Database
regulatory · updated 2026-01-09
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →

Allergen profile

Canonical allergen markers detected on this ingredient. Each row is derived from the ingredient’s name or synonyms matching a known allergen class — useful when scanning a label for a specific allergy context.

DairyContains · Oral (ingested)
Source: chemindex_name_match

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Food use

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Fragrance avoidance

Not a strong fit for fragrance avoidance because it carries Fragrance.

Avoid

The ingredient itself is a fragrance-linked signal, so it is better treated as an avoid case when fragrance exposure is the main concern.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Anhydrous lactose in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

180

Named organisations

Food and drugLaboratory suppliesPet and animal careConstruction and building materialsRaw materialsCleaning products and household care

Typical roles

HumectantSkin conditioningSurfactantThickenerSolventFragrance

See products using Anhydrous lactose →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include Anhydrous lactose; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 1000+ →Find products without it →

Co-occurrence

Often appears with

Ingredients that frequently appear alongside Anhydrous lactose in the catalog.