- Type
- Formaldehyde-releasing preservative
- How serious
- Moderate severity
- Evidence
- Strong evidence
Why it is flagged
The formaldehyde it releases is a leading cause of contact allergy. The EU permits it at 0.5%, and only where the releasable formaldehyde in the product stays under 0.1%, behind the "releases formaldehyde" warning required since 2022 above 0.001%; Health Canada caps formaldehyde used as a preservative at 0.2%.
Health topics it bears on
Sources
- Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist: Prohibited and restricted ingredients Health Canada, 2025
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (consolidated text of 1 May 2026) European Union (Official Journal of the European Union), 2026
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/1181 amending the preamble of Annex V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products European Union (Official Journal of the European Union), 2022
- Scientific advice on the threshold for the warning 'contains formaldehyde' in Annex V, preamble point 2 for formaldehyde-releasing substances (SCCS/1632/21) Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, 2021
Also listed as
sodium hydroxymethyl glycinate, sodium n-(hydroxymethyl)glycinate, sodium n-(hydroxymethyl) glycinate, sodium hydroxymethylaminoacetate, sodium hydroxymethylamino acetate, suttocide a, hydroxyméthylglycinate de sodium