5-AMINO-6-CHLORO-O-CRESOL

📋 Quick facts

Description: 5-AMINO-6-CHLORO-O-CRESOL — ANTIMICROBIAL, HAIR DYEING.

All Functions: ANTIMICROBIAL, HAIR DYEING

Quick Facts:

• Category: preservative

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• 5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol is an oxidative hair dye ingredient—it requires mixing with an oxidizing agent before use
• When combined with oxidative developer, skin absorption is extremely low
• Animal studies showed no skin irritation at concentrations up to 10%, and no allergic sensitization when combined with developer
• The ingredient is rapidly excreted from the body via urine
• Products containing this ingredient must include patch test instructions, as the chemical alone can be a moderate skin sensitizer

⚗️ Chemical Overview

The Expert Panel for Cosmetic Ingredient Safety concluded that 5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol is safe for use as a hair dye ingredient in the present practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment.

Source(s): Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), 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

5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol belongs to a family of chemicals called oxidative hair dyes, which are small organic molecules designed to color hair. Unlike semipermanent dyes, oxidative dyes must be combined with a developer (an oxidizing agent) to work effectively. When you apply the finished product to your scalp or hair, #1: skin absorption is extremely low because the ingredient has already reacted with the developer during the mixing step (Int J Toxicol, 2004). This is important for safety: testing showed that while 5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol alone can penetrate skin significantly, the combined product used in actual hair coloring does not absorb substantially into the body.

#2: Once any small amount does absorb, your body eliminates it rapidly through urine (Int J Toxicol, 2004). Animal safety testing revealed encouraging results: #3: repeated skin exposure to the ingredient caused no cumulative irritation, and single exposures up to 10% concentration produced no skin irritation (Int J Toxicol, 2004). #4: When combined with oxidative developer, the ingredient did not trigger allergic sensitization reactions in guinea pig tests, even though the chemical alone can be a moderate skin sensitizer (Int J Toxicol, 2004). #5: Minor eye irritation occurred only with undiluted (100%) ingredient; a 5% solution caused only minor irritation (Int J Toxicol, 2004).

#6: Subchronic toxicity testing in animals found no adverse reactions (Int J Toxicol, 2004). Because these chemicals can cause skin reactions in some people when tested alone, #7: products containing this ingredient are required to include caution statements and patch test instructions so consumers can identify potential sensitivity before full application (Int J Toxicol, 2004). The research supports safety in oxidative hair dyes specifically, though sources note that data on this ingredient in semipermanent (nonoxidative) dyes remain limited.

📄 Related Research

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

• Unknown authors (2004). Final report on the safety assessment of 6-Amino-m-Cresol, 6-Amino-o-Cresol, 4-Amino-m-Cresol, 5-Amino-4-Chloro-o-Cresol, 5-Amino-6-Chloro-o-Cresol, and 4-Chloro-2-Aminophenol. Int J Toxicol.

🧴 Products Containing 5-AMINO-6-CHLORO-O-CRESOL

• Ryana, Verona Precious argan oil Cerise noir
• CONAXESS TRADE NORGE AS Live Urban Metallics U67 Blue Mercury
• L’OREAL NORGE AS Nutrisse Ultra Color 7.4 Coper Passion
• Nutrise untra colour