2-ACETONAPHTHONE

📋 Quick facts

Description: 2-ACETONAPHTHONE — FRAGRANCE, PERFUMING.

All Functions: FRAGRANCE, PERFUMING

Quick Facts:

• Category: fragrance

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• 2-Acetonaphthone is a synthetic fragrance material used in some cosmetics
• When exposed to UV radiation or sunlight, it can break down and generate reactive oxygen species (ROS)—unstable molecules that can damage cells
• In lab studies, it reduced skin cell viability by 44–57% under UVA and sunlight exposure
• Research suggests avoiding sun exposure after applying products containing this ingredient

⚗️ Chemical Overview

2-acetylnaphthalene is a naphthyl ketone that is naphthalene substituted at position 2 by an acetyl group. Methyl beta-naphthyl ketone is used as a food additive [EAFUS] (“EAFUS: Everything Added to Food in the United States. [http://www.eafus.com/]”).

Methyl beta-naphthyl ketone belongs to the family of Naphthalenes. These are compounds containing a naphthalene moiety, which consists of two fused benzene rings.

Source(s): Toxin and Toxin Target Database (T3DB), ChEBI, via PubChem

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

⚠️ Don’t Combine With

📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

2-Acetonaphthone (2-ACN) is a synthetic fragrance ingredient found in various cosmetic products (Photochem Photobiol, 2022). The main concern with this ingredient relates to what happens when it interacts with sunlight or UV radiation on your skin. When exposed to UV radiation or sunlight, 2-ACN undergoes photodegradation—essentially breaking apart—within about 4 hours. During this breakdown process, #1: it generates reactive oxygen species (ROS), specifically superoxide anion radicals and singlet oxygen, which are highly unstable molecules that can damage cells (Photochem Photobiol, 2022). In lab studies, #2: when skin cells were treated with 2-ACN and exposed to UVA radiation, cell viability dropped by 43.9%, and under sunlight exposure it dropped by 57.4% (Photochem Photobiol, 2022).

The damage occurs through cellular stress: #3: ROS generated by photosensitized 2-ACN increased 6-fold under UVA exposure and 8-fold under sunlight exposure inside cells, compromising critical structures like the endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial membranes, ultimately leading to cell death (Photochem Photobiol, 2022). Based on these findings, #4: researchers recommend that users avoid solar radiation after applying cosmetic products containing 2-ACN (Photochem Photobiol, 2022). It’s important to note that these are laboratory findings; the practical real-world impact on human skin at the concentrations used in actual cosmetic formulations is not detailed in the available research.

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Chandra S et al. (2022). Involvement of Type-I and Type-II Photodynamic Reactions in Photosensitization of Fragrance Ingredient 2-acetonaphthone. Photochem Photobiol.

🧴 Products Containing 2-ACETONAPHTHONE