PHENYL GLYCIDYL ETHER

📋 Quick facts

Description: PHENYL GLYCIDYL ETHER — PHENYL GLYCIDYL ETHER. Formula: C9H10O2. MW: 150.17. IUPAC: 2-(phenoxymethyl)oxirane.

Quick Facts:

• Category: other
• Also Known As: Phenyl glycidyl ether

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) is a strong skin sensitizer used as a reactive diluent in epoxy resin systems
• PGE is one of the common causes of occupational contact dermatitis
• People sensitized to other epoxy resin monomers may react to PGE due to chemical similarities
• Animal studies showed hair loss and skin changes when exposed to heated PGE vapor at high doses
• PGE reacts chemically with skin proteins, which is linked to its sensitizing ability

⚗️ Chemical Overview

Phenyl Glycidyl Ether can cause cancer according to The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It can cause male reproductive toxicity according to California Labor Code. Phenyl glycidyl ether is a colorless liquid. (NTP, 1992) Phenyl glycidyl ether is an aromatic ether.

Source(s): ChEBI, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), CAMEO Chemicals, 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

Phenyl glycidyl ether is a chemical compound belonging to a class called epoxides, and it’s used in commercial epoxy resin systems alongside resins, curing agents, and modifiers (Chem Res Toxicol, 2011). Here’s what the research shows: #1: PGE is classified as a strong skin sensitizer based on guinea-pig testing (Contact Dermatitis, 2009). This means it can trigger allergic contact dermatitis—a skin reaction that develops after the immune system becomes sensitized to the chemical. #2: The chemical reactivity of PGE appears to drive its sensitizing potential. PGE covalently binds (forms strong chemical bonds) to skin proteins, specifically attaching to amino acids called cysteine and proline residues in peptides (Chem Res Toxicol, 2011).

Compounds with similar structures but lacking certain heteroatoms (atoms like nitrogen or sulfur positioned near the reactive epoxide group) showed reduced skin reactivity, suggesting that this structural feature is crucial for sensitization capacity. #3: Cross-reactivity is a concern for people with epoxy resin allergies. PGE shares chemical similarities with other epoxy resin monomers like DGEBA and DGEBF—specifically a reactive glycidyl group and an aromatic ring (Contact Dermatitis, 2009). People sensitized to DGEBA may react to PGE, though the reverse relationship does not consistently hold. #4: In animal studies, rats and dogs exposed to heated PGE vapor at concentrations of 5.0 to 11.8 ppm for 90 days (6 hours daily, 5 days weekly) experienced hair loss and microscopic skin changes including follicle inflammation and impaired hair shaft formation (J Toxicol Environ Health, 1977).

No effects were observed in dogs at these exposure levels, and no adverse effects appeared at the lowest dose tested (1.3 ppm). However, the sources provided do not contain data on how these animal findings translate to human safety at typical consumer exposure levels, nor do they provide guidance on safe concentration limits in skincare products.

📄 Related Research

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

• Delaine T et al. (2011). Structure–activity relationship between the in vivo skin sensitizing potency of analogues of phenyl glycidyl ether and the induction of Nrf2-dependent luciferase activity in the KeratinoSens in vitro assay. Chem Res Toxicol.
• Pontén A et al. (2009). Sensitizing capacity and cross-reactivity of phenyl glycidyl ether studied in the guinea-pig maximization test. Contact Dermatitis.
• Lee KP et al. (1977). Alopecia induced by inhalation exposure to phenyl glycidyl ether. J Toxicol Environ Health.
• Niklasson IB et al. (2011). Impact of a heteroatom in a structure-activity relationship study on analogues of phenyl glycidyl ether (PGE) from epoxy resin systems. Chem Res Toxicol.

🧴 Products Containing PHENYL GLYCIDYL ETHER