Allergen

Clove

Clove oil is eugenol, which is extracted from cloves, and which is one of the allergens in the Fragrance Mix included standard patch test trays, definitely making it a top contact allergen.

Where can you find clove oil

Because it smells good and has antiseptic properties, clove oil is found in lots of things, from foods and teas to essential oils and even unexpected things like mosquito repellant, oil painting, and dental products. Here are some more:

• Cosmetics and makeup
• Flavorings in food, toothpaste, dental cement, mouthwash, dental packaging
• Some medicinal creams
• Some meat an food preservatives
• Perfumes and colognes

What you can do

Avoid anything that says clove, clove oil, or Eugenia. Steer clear of actual cloves but also violets, carnations, cinnamon, hyacinths, and roses (even if they’re natural and organic).

Touching things with these allergens is definitely a risk for contact dermatitis if you have patch tested positive to fragrance but clove in aromatherapy or air fresheners can also cause airborne contact dermatitis.

Many allergens are also photo-allergens (fragrance for sure) which means that these substances can react with light to cause melasma and other hyperpigmentations.

Because cloves can cross react with so many other fragrances (even natural ones), if you’ve patch tested positive to it, it’s best to prioritize “fragrance-free” in everything that you use on and around you. Remember to avoid things that “smell like nothing,” too, as they may contain masking fragrances (surprisingly, something that “smells like a lab” might actually be your safest bet).

If you need to touch or be around these plants, or if you have a recipe that requires cloves, try applying thick, purely mineral, non-comedogenic barrier-protective product like Stay-On-Point! or Armada Baby or Post-Procedure before exposure (wear a mask, long sleeves, and gloves, too).

Avoid other substances in Fragrance Mix:

• Amyl cinnamal
• Cinnamyl alcohol
• Cinnamal (cinnamic aldehyde)
• Eugenol
• Geraniol
• Hydroxycitronellal
• Isoeugenol
• Oak moss absolute (Evernia prunastri)
• Sorbitan sesquioleate added as an emulsifier

Other ingredients to avoid and cross reactants that aren’t so obvious include:

• Balsam of Peru
• Anisyl alcohol
• Benzyl alcohol
• Benzyl salicylate
• Camphor
• Cassia oil
• Ethylene brassylate
• Musk ambrette
• Sandalwood oil
• Wood tars

Subscribe to VMVinSKIN.com and our YouTube channel for more hypoallergenic tips and helpful “skinformation”!

If you have a history of sensitive skin…

…don’t guess! Random trial and error can cause more damage. Ask your dermatologist about a patch test.

To shop our selection of hypoallergenic products, visit vmvhypoallergenics.com. Need help? Ask us in the comments section below, or for more privacy (such as when asking us to customize recommendations for you based on your patch test results) contact us by email, or drop us a private message on Facebook.

For more:

• On the prevalence of skin allergies, see Skin Allergies Are More Common Than Ever. 
• For the difference between irritant and allergic reactions, see It’s Complicated: Allergic Versus Irritant Reaction.
• For the difference between food, skin, and other types of reactions: see Skin & Food Allergies Are Not The Same Thing. 
• On the differences between hypoallergenic, natural, and organic, check out Is Natural Hypoallergenic? and this video in our YouTube channel. 
• To learn about the VH-Rating System and hypoallergenicity: What Is The Validated Hypoallergenic Rating System?

Main References: 

Regularly published reports on the most common allergens by the North American Contact Dermatitis Group and European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (based on over 28,000 patch test results, combined), plus other studies. Remember, we are all individuals — just because an ingredient is not on the most common allergen lists does not mean you cannot be sensitive to it, or that it will not become an allergen. These references, being based on so many patch test results, are a good basis but it is always best to get a patch test yourself.

1. DeKoven JG, Silverberg JI, Warshaw EM, Atwater AR, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results: 2017-2018. Dermatitis. 2021 Mar-Apr 01;32(2):111-123.
2. DeKoven JG, Warshaw EM, Zug KA, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results: 2015-2016. Dermatitis. 2018 Nov/Dec;29(6):297-309.
3. DeKoven JG, Warshaw EM, Belsito DV, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group Patch Test Results 2013-2014. Dermatitis. 2017 Jan/Feb;28(1):33-46.
4. Warshaw, E.M., Maibach, H.I., Taylor, J.S., et al. North American contact dermatitis group patch test results: 2011-2012. Dermatitis. 2015; 26: 49-59.
5. W Uter et al. The European Baseline Series in 10 European Countries, 2005/2006–Results of the European Surveillance System on Contact Allergies (ESSCA). Contact Dermatitis 61 (1), 31-38.7 2009.
6. Wetter, DA et al. Results of patch testing to personal care product allergens in a standard series and a supplemental cosmetic series: An analysis of 945 patients from the Mayo Clinic Contact Dermatitis Group, 2000-2007. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2010 Nov;63(5):789-98.
7. Warshaw EM, Buonomo M, DeKoven JG, et al. Importance of Supplemental Patch Testing Beyond a Screening Series for Patients With Dermatitis: The North American Contact Dermatitis Group Experience. JAMA Dermatol. 2021 Dec 1;157(12):1456-1465.
8. Verallo-Rowell VM. The validated hypoallergenic cosmetics rating system: its 30-year evolution and effect on the prevalence of cosmetic reactions. Dermatitis 2011 Apr; 22(2):80-97.
9. Ruby Pawankar et al. World Health Organization. White Book on Allergy 2011-2012 Executive Summary.
10. Misery L et al. Sensitive skin in the American population: prevalence, clinical data, and role of the dermatologist. Int J Dermatol. 2011 Aug;50(8):961-7.
11. Warshaw EM1, Maibach HI, Taylor JS, Sasseville D, DeKoven JG, Zirwas MJ, Fransway AF, Mathias CG, Zug KA, DeLeo VA, Fowler JF Jr, Marks JG, Pratt MD, Storrs FJ, Belsito DV. North American contact dermatitis group patch test results: 2011-2012.Dermatitis. 2015 Jan-Feb;26(1):49-59.
12. Warshaw, E et al. Allergic patch test reactions associated with cosmetics: Retrospective analysis of cross-sectional data from the North American Contact Dermatitis Group, 2001-2004. J AmAcadDermatol 2009;60:23-38.
13. Foliaki S et al. Antibiotic use in infancy and symptoms of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in children 6 and 7 years old: International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase III. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2009 Nov;124(5):982-9.
14. Kei EF et al. Role of the gut microbiota in defining human health. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2010 Apr; 8(4): 435–454.
15. Thavagnanam S et al. A meta-analysis of the association between Caesarean section and childhood asthma. Clin Exp Allergy. 2008;38(4):629–633.
16. Marks JG, Belsito DV, DeLeo VA, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group patch-test results, 1998 to 2000. Am J Contact Dermat. 2003;14(2):59-62.
17. Warshaw EM, Belsito DV, Taylor JS, et al. North American Contact Dermatitis Group patch test results: 2009 to 2010. Dermatitis. 2013;24(2):50-99.
18. Verallo-Rowell V. M, Katalbas S.S. & Pangasinan J. P. Natural (Mineral, Vegetable, Coconut, Essential) Oils and Contact Dermatitis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16,51 (2016) . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0630-9.
19. Park G, Oh DS, Lee MG, Lee CE, Kim YU. 6-Shogaol, an active compound of ginger, alleviates allergic dermatitis-like skin lesions via cytokine inhibition by activating the Nrf2 pathway. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2016 Nov 1;310:51-59. doi: 10.1016/j.taap.2016.08.019. Epub 2016 Aug 22. PMID: 27562088.
20. de Groot AC. Monographs in Contact Allergy, Volume II – Fragrances and Essential Oils. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group; 2019.
21. De Groot AC. Monographs in Contact Allergy Volume I. Non-Fragrance Allergens in Cosmetics (Part I and Part 2). Boca Raton, Fl, USA: CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, 2018.
22. Zhu TH, Suresh R, Warshaw E, et al. The Medical Necessity of Comprehensive Patch Testing. Dermatitis. 2018 May/Jun;29(3):107-111.

Want more great information on contact dermatitis? Check out the American Contact Dermatitis Society, Dermnet New Zealand, the Contact Dermatitis Institute, and your country’s contact dermatitis association.

Laura is our “dew”-good CEO at VMV Hypoallergenics and eldest daughter of VMV’s founding dermatologist-dermatopathologist. She has two children, Madison and Gavin, and works at VMV with her sister CC and husband Juan Pablo (Madison and Gavin frequently volunteer their “usage testing” services). In addition to saving the world’s skin, Laura is passionate about health, inclusion, cultural theory, human rights, happiness, and spreading (like a VMV cream!) goodness!