Dettol Instant Hand Sanitizer Ingredients (Explained) - INCIDecoder

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Ingredients overview

Alcohol Denatured (66%), Water, PEG/​PPG-17/​6 Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Acrylates/​C10-30, Acrylates Copolymer, Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine, Fragrance, Limonene[less] Read more on how to read an ingredient list >> Compare Report Error Embed

Highlights

Antimicrobial/antibacterial: Alcohol Denatured (66%) Chelating: Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine Emollient: PEG/​PPG-17/​6 Copolymer Moisturizer/humectant: Propylene Glycol Perfuming: Fragrance, Limonene Solvent: Alcohol Denatured (66%), Water, PEG/​PPG-17/​6 Copolymer, Propylene Glycol, Limonene Viscosity controlling: Alcohol Denatured (66%), Acrylates Copolymer

Skim through

Ingredient name	what-it-does	irr., com.	ID-Rating
Alcohol Denatured (66%)	antimicrobial/​antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling	icky
Water	solvent
PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer	emollient, solvent
Propylene Glycol	moisturizer/​humectant, solvent	0, 0
Acrylates/C10-30
Acrylates Copolymer	viscosity controlling
Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine	chelating
Fragrance	perfuming	icky
Limonene	perfuming, solvent	icky

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Dettol Instant Hand SanitizerIngredients explained

Alcohol Denatured (66%) - icky What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, solvent, viscosity controlling, astringent

• It's a super common and super debated skincare ingredient
• It has several benefits: great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent and antimicrobial
• It can be very drying if it's in the first few ingredients on an ingredient list
• Some experts even think that regular exposure to alcohol damages skin barrier and causes inflammation though it's a debated opinion (read more in geeky details tab)

Read all the geeky details about Alcohol Denat. here >> WaterAlso-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent

Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.

It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.

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Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.

One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.

PEG/​PPG-17/​6 Copolymer What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A water-loving emollient and humectant that gives a nice skin feel and slip to the product. It works well with facial toners.

Propylene Glycol What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

• It's a helper ingredient that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products
• It's also a solvent, humectant and to some extent a penetration enhancer
• It has a bad reputation among natural cosmetics advocates but cosmetic scientists and toxicology experts do not agree (read more in the geeky details section)

Read all the geeky details about Propylene Glycol here >> Acrylates/​C10-30

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Acrylates Copolymer What-it-does: viscosity controlling

A big polymer molecule that has a bunch of different versions and thus different uses. It can act as a film former, asa thickening agent, or it can increase the water-resistance in sunscreens. It is also used to entrap pigments/inorganic sunscreens within a micron size matrix for even coverage and easy application.

Tetrahydroxypropyl Ethylenediamine What-it-does: chelating

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Fragrance - ickyAlso-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!).

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.

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Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).

Limonene - icky What-it-does: perfuming, solvent, deodorant

A super common and cheap fragrance ingredient. It's in many plants, e.g. rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint and it's the main component (about 50-90%) of the peel oil of citrus fruits.

It does smell nice but the problem is that it oxidizes on air exposure and the resulting stuff is not good for the skin. Oxidized limonene can cause allergic contact dermatitis and counts as a frequent skin sensitizer.

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Limonene's nr1 function is definitely being a fragrance component, but there are several studies showing that it's also a penetration enhancer, mainly for oil-loving components.

All in all, limonene has some pros and cons, but - especially if your skin is sensitive - the cons probably outweigh the pros.

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what‑it‑does

antimicrobial/antibacterial | solvent | viscosity controlling

Alcohol with some additives to make it unconsumable. It is great solvent, penetration enhancer, creates cosmetically elegant, light formulas, great astringent, and antimicrobial. In large amounts, it can be very drying to the skin. [more]

what‑it‑does

solvent

Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]

what‑it‑does

emollient | solvent

A water-loving emollient and humectant that gives a nice skin feel and slip to the product. It works well with facial toners.

what‑it‑does	moisturizer/humectant | solvent
irritancy, com.	0, 0

A common glycol that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products. It's also a solvent, humectant and to some extent a penetration enhancer. [more]

what‑it‑does

viscosity controlling

A big polymer molecule that has a bunch of different versions and thus different uses. It can act as a film former, as a thickening agent, or it can increase the water-resistance in sunscreens. [more]

what‑it‑does

chelating

what‑it‑does

perfuming

The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. [more]

what‑it‑does

perfuming | solvent

A super common fragrance ingredient found naturally in many plants including citrus peel oils, rosemary or lavender. It autoxidizes on air exposure and counts as a common skin sensitizer. [more] We do a Best of INCIDecoder email once a month with the most interesting products and ingredients we bump into. An error has occurred. Please try again later! Click below to subscribe: Thanks. :) You are almost done: please check your mailbox to confirm your email! *INCI is a list of the standardized and internationally accepted names used in the declaration of ingredients on cosmetic and personal care products. It is published by the Personal Care Product Council. Copyright 2026 | About