What is it?
An extract of the fruit of the wine grape, Vitis vinifera, also called the European grape. It carries the fruit’s sugars and fruit acids along with pectin, tannins, anthocyanins, flavonoids, vitamins and procyanidins. In cosmetics it is used mainly as a skin-conditioning ingredient in both leave-on and rinse-off products. It is a different ingredient from grape seed extract and grapeseed oil, which come from the seeds.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 2012 that grape fruit extract is safe in the present practices of use and concentration in cosmetics.
- A product containing 10 percent grape fruit extract caused no irritation or allergy in a patch test on 54 people.
- Grapes are one of the 20 most frequently eaten raw fruits listed in FDA food labeling rules.
- A grape protein, Vit v 1, is a recognized food allergen.
More information
Grape fruit extract contains fruit acids, sugars, minerals, pectin, tannins, proteins, anthocyanins, flavonoids, carotene, vitamins and procyanidins, according to the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR). At the time of its review, the extract was reported in 238 cosmetic products, at up to 0.7 percent in leave-on products and up to 2 percent in rinse-off products.
The CIR Expert Panel reviewed 24 grape-derived ingredients together and concluded in 2012 that they are safe in the present practices of use and concentration. For the fruit extract, human repeat insult patch tests of products containing up to 10 percent, including one on 54 people, found no irritation or sensitization, and laboratory models predicted at most minimal eye irritation. Some bacterial tests of grape and grape juice were positive for mutations; the Panel noted that this happens with some foods and that grape constituents such as flavonoids do not appear to damage genes in mammals, so it did not consider those results relevant. It also asked manufacturers to keep limiting pesticide residues and heavy metals, a standard concern for botanical ingredients.
Grape allergy is possible. The WHO/IUIS allergen database lists a grape allergen, Vit v 1, a lipid transfer protein, and CIR noted that some vineyard workers with heavy exposure to grapes had positive skin-prick tests to grapes without any symptoms. On labels, look for Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Extract; grape seed extract and grapeseed oil are separate ingredients.
Sources: CIR: Safety Assessment of Vitis Vinifera (Grape)-Derived Ingredients as Used in Cosmetics (final report, 2012); Allergologie Select (2026): Allergens from plant-based food allergen sources and their clinical and diagnostic relevance
