PHOSPHORIC ACID
Phosphoric acid is the common name for PHOSPHORIC ACID, also called orthophosphoric acid in chemistry. It is an inorganic acid made of phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen, rather than an oil, a plant extract, or an ingredient obtained from a plant part.
PHOSPHORIC ACID: what it is
Phosphoric acid is the common name for PHOSPHORIC ACID, also called orthophosphoric acid in chemistry. It is an inorganic acid made of phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen, rather than an oil, a plant extract, or an ingredient obtained from a plant part.
On an ingredient list, PHOSPHORIC ACID identifies the acid itself, not one of its phosphate salts. That distinction matters because related phosphate salts can behave differently in a formula. Here, the acid is associated with controlling acidity in the product, not with a botanical origin or an oily feel.
PHOSPHORIC ACID: what it does in cosmetics
In cosmetics, phosphoric acid can help keep the pH within the range intended for the formula. In practical terms, this provides a more stable setting for the other components to behave as intended during use and throughout the product's life.
That pH-balancing role does not, on its own, mean the ingredient moisturizes, exfoliates, or treats the skin. A published assessment of phosphoric acid and its salts considered cosmetic use as buffering agents and found them safe in the practices assessed when formulated to be non-irritating; it does not establish a treatment benefit for phosphoric acid alone.
PHOSPHORIC ACID: conditions and care
The published assessment of phosphoric acid and its salts found them safe in the practices and concentrations reviewed when the formula is non-irritating. It does not establish one universal concentration for every product.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
