What does Dimethyl oxalate do?

Used in cosmetics as a solvent, a chelating agent and a plasticiser.

Is Dimethyl oxalate safe?

We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

beauty
industrial

Dimethyl oxalate

CAS 553-90-2

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Dimethyl oxalate in plain language

What it is: Also known as Methyl oxalate · dimethyl ester Ethanedioic acid · Dimethyl ethanedioate · Ethanedioic acid, 1,2-DIMETHYL ester · Dimethyl ester oxalic acid · BBL011507
Show all 14 names
Dimethyloxalat · Dimethyloxalate · HY-Y0856 · Oxalate de dimethyle · SBB040902 · UNII-IQ3Q79344S · dimethyl ethane-1,2-dioate · oxalato de dimetilo
What it does: Used in cosmetics as a solvent, a chelating agent and a plasticiser.
Solvent
Chelating
Plasticiser
Chelating agent
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. Dimethyl oxalate appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Industrial

EUCosIngActiveRestriction: III/3
- Restriction: III/3Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 2 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Solvent, Plasticizer, Chelating agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 2 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Solvent, Plasticizer, Chelating agent.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 Dimethyl oxalate. 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 Dimethyl oxalate yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

6 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated 2019-12-20
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
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 →

Suitability

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

Fragrance avoidance

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.

Where it has been recorded

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

Source records

Named organisations

Laboratory supplies

Typical roles

SolventChelatingPlasticiserChelating agent

See products using Dimethyl oxalate →