undefined 1
undefined 2
undefined 3
undefined 4
sodium levulinate
AKA “Pentanoic acid, sodium salt, LEVULINIC ACID, SODIUM SALT, RefChem:183967, DTXCID2096099, Sodium 4-oxovalerate”
Synthetic
Ingredient Facts
Sodium levulinate
AKA: Pentanoic acid, Sodium salt, LEVULINIC ACID, SODIUM SALT, RefChem:183967, DTXCID2096099, Sodium 4-oxovalerate
Synthetic · Humectant · EWG: 1
Synthetic
Humectant
Preservative
Skin Conditioner
Synthetic
Clean
A skin-conditioning agent that helps maintain skin's natural moisture balance and supports a smoother, more comfortable complexion.
Formula
C5H7NaO3
Mol. Weight
138.10
CAS #
19856-23-6
Form
Powder
See origin →
Functions
Skin Conditioning
A catch-all term for ingredients that improve how skin looks and feels — softer, smoother, more supple. The workhorse behind most moisturizers.
Humectant
A moisture magnet. Pulls water from the air and deeper skin layers up to the surface to keep skin plump and hydrated.
Preservative
Keeps your product from growing bacteria, mold, or yeast. Without these, that jar of cream becomes a petri dish in about a week.
Skin Conditioning Miscellaneous
Improves skin feel
Traditional Use
A modern synthetic preservative developed as part of the clean beauty movement to replace parabens, derived from levulinic acid and designed to inhibit microbial growth in cosmetic products.
Skin Types
●all-skin-types, gentle
Best For
General
Melanin-Rich Skin
Suitable
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Safe
Yes
EWG
1
CIR
Safe
Pregnancy
Yes
CIR Safety Findings
ewg-1
medical-approval
pregnancy-nursing-safe
all-shades-safe
Phototoxicity Concern
Regulatory Status
USA✔ permitted
EU⚠ restricted
JAPAN⚠ restricted
CANADA⚠ restricted
Hydrating Firming Serum
Alpyn Beauty
 →
The Radiance Ritual
Alpyn Beauty
 →
Smooth & Soothe Duo
Odacité
 →
Clean-ical Formulations AM + PM Serum Duo
Odacité
 →
Hydra-Firm Full Body Duo • C-Glow & C-Smooth • Vitamin C+ Kakadu Plum
Odacité
 →
Intense Repair Eye Cream Refill • Edelweiss Extrême® • Peptides + Carnosine
Odacité
 →
Derm-Restore Super Serum • Edelweiss Extrême® • Peptides + Carnosine
Odacité
 →
Edelweiss Extrême® • Repair + Restore Set
Odacité
 →
Sun Defense Performance Duo • SPF 50 + Super Serum
Odacité
 →
Anti-aging Dream Duo • SPF 50 + Retinol
Odacité
 →
Bioactive Renew Supreme Cream • Edelweiss Extrême® • Peptides + Carnosine
Odacité
 →
Edelweiss Extrême® Skin Barrier Set
Odacité
 →
Age-Defying Fundamentals
Odacité
 →
Day & Night Eye Care Duo
Odacité
 →
Sun Damage Defense Duo • SPF 50 + Vitamin C
Odacité
 →
Anti Aging Eye & Sun Defense Duo
Odacité
 →
Daily Calm Cleansing Duo
Odacité
 →
Edelweiss Extrême® • Hydra-Calm Cream Cleanser • Peptides + Carnosine
Odacité
 →
SPF 50 Color Balm Duo
Odacité
 →
SPF 50 Tinted Sunscreen & Color Balm Duo
Odacité
 →
Winter Renewal Ritual
Odacité
 →
Skin Perfecting Skincare Set
Acure
 →
AI Peptide Serum
Acure
 →
The Firm & Smooth Serum Duo
Acure
 →
AI Peptide Serum Duo
Acure
 →
Radically Rejuvenating Dual Phase Bakuchiol Serum Set
Acure
 →
The "New Skin" Gift Set: Zombie Cell Clarifying System
Acure
 →
The Texture Repair Set
Acure
 →
Zombie Cell Clarifying System
Acure
 →
Zombie Cell Clarifying Serum Mini
Acure
 →
Botanical D Moisture Mist
One Love Organics
 →
Botanical D Moisture Mist - 3 Pack
One Love Organics
 →
Mist RX
Goldfaden MD
 →
Radiance Boosting Starter Set
Goldfaden MD
 →
Eye Defy
Goldfaden MD
 →
Radiance Renewal Eye Duo
Goldfaden MD
 →
Body Surge Travel
Goldfaden MD
 →
Dream Set
Goldfaden MD
 →
Radiance Repair Trio
Goldfaden MD
 →
Middlemist Seven™ Cream Cleanser Mini
Pai Skincare
 →
Phaze™ Gel Cleanser
Pai Skincare
 →
Gentle Genius™ Barrier Care Rapid Rescue Hand Cream
Pai Skincare
 →
The Gemini™ Stretch Mark System
Pai Skincare
 →
Phaze™ Gel Cleanser Mini
Pai Skincare
 →
The Rosehip Ritual
Pai Skincare
 →
Easy Calm, Easy Glow Gift Set
Pai Skincare
 →
Retinol Alternative Cream
Indie Lee
 →
I-Waken Eye Serum
Indie Lee
 →
Serum For Days! Trio
Indie Lee
 →
[Travel Size] Hydra-Restore Cream Cleanser (20mL)
Grown Alchemist
 →
Effects of Sodium Salts of Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives on Skin Permeation of Cromolyn Sodium.
Akinbote OE, Verana G, Dandekar AA, Tijani AO, Mishra D et al.
AAPS PharmSciTech, 2023
→
Effects of Sodium Salts of Fatty Acids and Their Derivatives on Skin Permeation of Cromolyn Sodium.
Akinbote OE, Verana G, Dandekar AA, Tijani AO, Mishra D et al.
AAPS PharmSciTech, 2023
→
Safety Assessment of Levulinic Acid and Sodium Levulinate as Used in Cosmetics
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel
International Journal of Toxicology
→
levulinic acid
European Commission
EU Cosmetic Ingredient Database (CosIng)
→
sodium levulinate
European Commission
EU Cosmetic Ingredient Database (CosIng)
→
levulinic acid
Environmental Working Group (EWG)
EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
→
sodium levulinate
Environmental Working Group (EWG)
EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
→
SODIUM SALT
Environmental Working Group (EWG)
EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
→
Physicochemical and safety evaluation of 5-aminolevulinic acid in novel liposomes as carrier for skin delivery.
Fang YP, Wu PC, Tsai YH, Huang YB
Journal of liposome research, 2008
→
Physicochemical and safety evaluation of 5-aminolevulinic acid in novel liposomes as carrier for skin delivery.
Fang YP, Wu PC, Tsai YH, Huang YB
Journal of liposome research, 2008
→
Safety Assessment of Levulinic Acid and Sodium Levulinate as Used in Cosmetics.
Raj PS, Bergfeld WF, Belsito DV, Cohen DE, Klaassen CD et al.
International journal of toxicology, 2025
→
Oil components modulate the skin delivery of 5-aminolevulinic acid and its ester prodrug from oil-in-water and water-in-oil nanoemulsions.
Zhang LW, Al-Suwayeh SA, Hung CF, Chen CC, Fang JY
International journal of nanomedicine, 2011
→
Verified Feb 2026
Data: PubChem · CosIng · EWG · CIR