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. 2016 Mar 8;124(8):1155–1165. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1510529

Table 6.

Twenty most frequently occurring three-way combinations of the target chemicals.

Chemical 1 Chemical 2 Chemical 3 No. of products containing this ternary combination
Methyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 1,059
Butyl paraben (PB) Methyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 662
Butyl paraben (PB) Methyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) 587
Linalool (NF) Limonene (NF) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 566
Butyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 530
Linalool (NF) Methyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 308
Eugenol (NF) Linalool (NF) Limonene (NF) 272
Linalool (NF) Methyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 241
Methyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 216
Linalool (NF) Methyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) 176
Methyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 153
Linalool (NF) Ethyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 150
Ethyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 131
Linalool (NF) Ethyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 123
Linalool (NF) Butyl paraben (PB) Methyl paraben (PB) 122
Linalool (NF) Butyl paraben (PB) Ethyl paraben (PB) 106
Linalool (NF) Butyl paraben (PB) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 103
Butyl paraben (PB) Methyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 102
Eugenol (NF) Linalool (NF) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 95
Butyl paraben (PB) Limonene (NF) 2-Phenoxyethanol (GE) 91
The chemical classes are as follows: methyl, ethyl, and butyl paraben comprise the parabens (PB); linalool, limonene, and eugenol comprise the natural fragrances (NF); and glycol ethers (GE) are represented by 2-phenoxyethanol. A complete list of three-way combinations is provided in Excel File Table S2. The product totals should be considered a lower bound because some of the target chemicals are not always listed explicitly on a product label.