Triclosan in skincare: hand soap, toothpaste and EU limits

Did it work better than soap?

A 2015 focused review looked at whether triclosan in hand soap had a favourable benefit-to-risk ratio. It found that laboratory data on efficacy conflict, that well-designed studies show no significant difference over non-antimicrobial soap, and that when triclosan was introduced in a community, no reduction in infections was observed. Resistance to triclosan, and cross-resistance to other antimicrobials, has been shown in laboratory settings, though community resistance rates were low. The authors concluded that the risk of potential antimicrobial resistance outweighs the benefit in antimicrobial soaps.¹

The FDA reached a similar conclusion for consumer antiseptic washes. Its 2016 final rule found that triclosan and triclocarban, among 19 ingredients, were not generally recognised as safe and effective for these products, because manufacturers did not provide data showing they were safe for long-term daily use or any more effective than plain soap and water.²

What the EU and India allow

In 2022, the EU's safety committee gave advice on triclosan as a preservative. It said use at the concentrations in entry 25 of Annex V of the Cosmetics Regulation is safe in dermally applied products, except body lotions, for adults and children aged 0.5 to 18. In toothpaste, 0.3% used individually is safe for both adults and children, but not safe in combination for children under 3. In mouthwash, 0.2% is safe for adults when used individually but not in combination, and not safe at 0.2% for children and adolescents even individually.³

Snifff's summary above describes the EU position as a ban in mouthwash and in toothpaste for children under 3, and says India permits 0.2% in mouthwash without an equivalent age warning. The legal rule is Annex V, entry 25, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/996: triclosan is allowed as a preservative at up to 0.3% in toothpaste, hand soaps, body soaps and shower gels, non-spray deodorants, face powders and blemish concealers and some nail products, not in toothpaste for children under 3, and mouthwash is no longer on the list.⁴ The India half is Snifff's.

The hormone question

Triclosan is structurally similar to thyroid hormones, and in animal studies, oral triclosan lowered thyroid hormone levels.⁵ In pregnant rats given up to 300 mg/kg/day from gestation to weaning, serum thyroxine (T4) fell about 30% in mothers and fetuses at the highest dose.⁶ Those are large oral doses in rats.

In people, the toothpaste studies are reassuring so far. In 12 adults who used a triclosan toothpaste for 14 days, plasma triclosan rose from under 1 ng/g to 26 to 296 ng/g, but plasma thyroid hormones did not change significantly.⁷ In a four-year trial subset of 132 people, thyroid function did not differ between 0.3% triclosan toothpaste and placebo at year 1, and at year 5 free T4 was the only measure with a significant difference.⁵

A risk assessment of triclosan found in breast milk, measured in 62 samples from milk banks, calculated that a baby's maximum exposure was about 7.4 micrograms per kg per day, a margin of exposure of around 6,760 from the no-effect dose in animals. The author concluded that it does not present a risk to babies.⁸ That is one author's risk assessment, and the question is not closed.

Triclosan in pregnancy and breastfeeding

Snifff's note is a caution: triclosan is a suspected endocrine disruptor, and it has been found in maternal urine, cord blood and milk. The animal evidence fits the first part. In pregnant rats at a high oral dose, serum T4 fell about 30% in mothers and fetuses.⁶

The human evidence is more reassuring on thyroid function with normal toothpaste use,⁷ and one risk assessment of triclosan in breast milk concluded a baby's exposure is small relative to animal no-effect levels.⁸ We found no pregnancy-specific human study. The caution rests on plausibility and the rat data, and the page makes no stronger claim.

Evidence on cosmetic products in pregnancy is limited overall, so ask your doctor or midwife about the specific product you use.⁹

What you will see on the label

The names to look for are Triclosan. In Snifff, it reads as Moderate risk. For the rest of the formula, see what the score means and how to read the list.

As Snifff shows it

Triclosan

Moderate risk

Pregnancy and nursing

Use with caution during pregnancy and lactation: triclosan is a suspected endocrine disruptor found in maternal urine, cord blood and milk.

Regulatory gap

The EU bans triclosan in mouthwash and in toothpaste for children under 3. India permits 0.2% in mouthwash and has no equivalent age warning.

Wording as it appears in the extension, which can change between releases.