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  • beauty

Salicylic acid and its salts

20/100 · High conf.

Concern score

20/100Minor concern based on regulatory listings.
High confidence

Salicylic acid and its salts in plain language

What it is

On cosmetic ingredient lists it appears as “Calcium salicylate”.

Also known as Calcium salicylate · Magnesium salicylate · Mea-salicylate · Potassium salicylate · Salicylic acid · Sodium salicylate

Show all 7 names

Tea-salicylate

What it does

Used in cosmetics as a preservative.

  • Preservative
Is it a concern?
Minor concern: no hazard classifications on record. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

What the listings say

Permitted, with conditions — Salicylic acid and its salts appears on published "allowed" regulatory lists rather than on a restriction list.

Salicylic acid and its salts is listed in Annex V of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009 (preservatives allowed in cosmetic products).

The score describes this ingredient's chemical identity — its hazard profile from published classifications and regulatory status — not the safety of any product it appears in.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Salicylic acid and its salts appears in these published regulatory listings.

  • EU Annex V — permitted preservative
  • EU permitted preservative
  • EUCosIngActiveCosmetics Regulation annex V / ref 3.
  • EUECallowed_listedAnnex V of EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009: preservatives allowed in cosmetic products. Maximum concentration: Salicylic acid: 0,5 % (acid) Salicylic acid salts: 0,5 % (acid) Other conditions: Salicylic acid: Not to be used in products for children under 3 years of age. Not to be used in oral products. Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user’s lungs by inhalation. Salicylic acid salts: Not to be used in products for children under 3 years of age, except for shampoos. Conditions of use and warnings: Salicylic acid: Not to be used for children under 3 years of age** **Solely for products which might be used for children under 3 years of age. Salicylic acid salts: Not to be used for children under 3 years of age*** ***Solely for products which might be used for children under 3 years of age and which remain in prolonged contact with the skin.
    • Annex V of EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) 1223/2009: preservatives allowed in cosmetic products. Maximum concentration: Salicylic acid: 0,5 % (acid) Salicylic acid salts: 0,5 % (acid) Other conditions: Salicylic acid: Not to be used in products for children under 3 years of age. Not to be used in oral products. Not to be used in applications that may lead to exposure of the end-user’s lungs by inhalation. Salicylic acid salts: Not to be used in products for children under 3 years of age, except for shampoos. Conditions of use and warnings: Salicylic acid: Not to be used for children under 3 years of age** **Solely for products which might be used for children under 3 years of age. Salicylic acid salts: Not to be used for children under 3 years of age*** ***Solely for products which might be used for children under 3 years of age and which remain in prolonged contact with the skin.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Salicylic acid and its salts. 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 Salicylic acid and its salts yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

2 data sources

Where this comes from

  • CosIng

    regulatory · updated 2026-09-23

    Open →

  • EU CosIng Cosmetics Regulation Annexes

    regulatory · updated 2020-07-27

    Open →

Suitability

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

Food use

Food-use source coverage is present in the current record.

Good fit

The ingredient appears in food-oriented source coverage or allowed-use references, which makes food use easier to support than a context with no domain signal at all.

Fragrance avoidance

No fragrance-linked caution surfaced in the current profile.

Good fit

This ingredient does not currently read as a fragrance-linked driver in the published evidence and hazard profile.

Catalog

Found in these products

Cosmetic and personal-care products that list Salicylic acid and its salts are shown first. Their ingredient lists include Salicylic acid and its salts; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

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