Reactions in selected patients to 22 fragrance materials.

182 patients on the basis of 6 criteria were suspected of suffering from contact sensitization to cosmetics. 77 (42%) gave a positive reaction to one or more of a series of 22 fragrance and flavor raw materials. The hands were most often involved. Cinnamic alcohol, hydroxycitronellal, eugenol, coumarin, and abitol gave the most common positive reactions; less frequent were cinnamic aldehyde, dihydrocoumarin and dimethylcitraconate. Their relevance could not be traced. However, the first 4 substances were the most frequently identified in 79 suspected cosmetics sent in for analysis by the patients or their physicians. The stability of room-stored petrolatum-fragrance mixtures should be checked.