What is it?
A fragrance compound, a terpene alcohol, that occurs naturally in many essential oils, including lavender, coriander and rosewood, and is also made synthetically. It is among the most frequently used fragrance ingredients in cosmetics, skin care and household cleaning products, and one Danish survey found it was the fragrance allergen most often named on cosmetic labels.
Key information
- Fresh, pure linalool rarely causes skin allergy, but on contact with air it forms hydroperoxides, which are potent skin sensitizers.
- Among 6,719 patients patch-tested at a Danish hospital from 2014 to 2025, 3.1 percent reacted to linalool hydroperoxides.
- The EU requires linalool to be named on cosmetic labels when it exceeds 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.
- IFRA requires linalool and linalool-rich natural materials to be kept low in peroxides, for example by adding antioxidants such as alpha-tocopherol when they are produced.
More information
Linalool is one of the most common fragrance terpenes. It is a main component of lavender oil, together with linalyl acetate, and the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) lists rosewood, coriander and ho wood oils among the natural materials rich in it. The EU’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) reviewed its allergy data in 2012. Tested in its pure, unoxidized form, linalool caused few reactions; in one large patch-test network, 0.3 percent of 2,401 patients reacted to stabilized linalool.
The problem is oxidation. Linalool reacts with oxygen in the air, and its primary oxidation products, hydroperoxides, are the main allergens. The SCCS placed oxidized linalool in a higher allergy category than the pure compound. In a Danish hospital’s records of 6,719 patients patch-tested from 2014 to 2025, 3.1 percent reacted to linalool hydroperoxides, and many of them also reacted to other fragrance allergens; other centers have reported higher rates. The authors recommend adding linalool hydroperoxides to the standard European patch-test series.
Oxidation can be slowed. IFRA’s standard says linalool and natural products rich in it should be used only when peroxides are kept to the lowest practical level, below a peroxide value of 20 mmol/L, for example by adding 0.1 percent BHT or alpha-tocopherol at production. The EU requires linalool to be named on the ingredient list above 0.001 percent in leave-on and 0.01 percent in rinse-off products, so people who are allergic can avoid it.
Reality check: linalool is a natural part of lavender and many other plants, and in pure form it is a weak allergen. Its real drawback is allergy to oxidized linalool, which affects a minority of people. If you are allergic to it, read labels; otherwise, favor fresh, tightly closed products over old or long-opened ones. See also our Lavender Oil profile.
Sources: SCCS: Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products (2012); IFRA: Standard for linalool (Amendment 38); European Commission CosIng: Linalool (Annex III/84); Contact Dermatitis (2026): Ten years of patch testing to hydroperoxides of limonene and linalool
