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Ingredients › Methylisothiazolinone (MI)

Baby skincare · 0–36 months

Is methylisothiazolinone (MI) safe for babies?

Methylisothiazolinone (MI) in baby wipes and shampoo

Methylisothiazolinone (MI or MIT) and its partner methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI) are preservatives found in wipes, shampoos and washes. They became one of the most common causes of skin allergy in Europe, and the EU banned them from leave-on products. Pikabee flags them on every baby skincare label.

What Pikabee flags, by age

0–6 monthsRED FLAG

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, in wipes, creams, washes and shampoos.

6–12 monthsRED FLAG

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, as at 0–6 months.

12–36 monthsRED FLAG

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, as at 0–6 months.

What it is

Isothiazolinones are strong preservatives used in tiny amounts. Wet wipes were a major source of skin allergy to MI, because they are left on the skin and used many times a day.

Once someone is allergic to MI, the reaction can return with every new contact, which is why the EU moved to keep it off skin altogether in leave-on products and to cap it in rinse-off ones.

Names it goes by on labels

Why Pikabee flags it

The EU banned the MCI/MI mixture from leave-on products in 2014 (Regulation 1003/2014), banned MI from leave-on products in 2016 (Regulation 2016/1198), and capped MI in rinse-off products at 0.0015% in 2017 (Regulation 2017/1224), after its scientific committee found MI a potent cause of skin allergy. Pikabee flags isothiazolinones in any baby skincare.

How often parents find it

2 of 31

different baby skincare labels parents have scanned with Pikabee had an isothiazolinone, as of 4 November 2026.

Questions parents ask

Is methylisothiazolinone (MI) safe for a baby under 6 months?

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, in wipes, creams, washes and shampoos. The EU banned the MCI/MI mixture from leave-on products in 2014 (Regulation 1003/2014), banned MI from leave-on products in 2016 (Regulation 2016/1198), and capped MI in rinse-off products at 0.0015% in 2017 (Regulation 2017/1224), after its scientific committee found MI a potent cause of skin allergy.

Is methylisothiazolinone (MI) safe for a 6 to 12 month old baby?

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, as at 0–6 months. The EU banned the MCI/MI mixture from leave-on products in 2014 (Regulation 1003/2014), banned MI from leave-on products in 2016 (Regulation 2016/1198), and capped MI in rinse-off products at 0.0015% in 2017 (Regulation 2017/1224), after its scientific committee found MI a potent cause of skin allergy.

Is methylisothiazolinone (MI) safe for a 1 to 3 year old?

Flagged: MI, MCI and benzisothiazolinone, as at 0–6 months. The EU banned the MCI/MI mixture from leave-on products in 2014 (Regulation 1003/2014), banned MI from leave-on products in 2016 (Regulation 2016/1198), and capped MI in rinse-off products at 0.0015% in 2017 (Regulation 2017/1224), after its scientific committee found MI a potent cause of skin allergy.

Is methylisothiazolinone in baby wipes a problem?

Pikabee flags it. The EU banned MI from leave-on products, which includes wet wipes, because it is a common cause of skin allergy.

It's only in a shampoo that gets rinsed off. Still flagged?

Yes. Pikabee flags isothiazolinones in any baby skincare, rinse-off included.

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Sources

  1. Commission Regulation (EU) No 1003/2014 (methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone mixture: not in leave-on products).
  2. Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/1198 (methylisothiazolinone prohibited in leave-on products).
  3. Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/1224 (methylisothiazolinone in rinse-off products limited to 0.0015%).
  4. Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (EU Cosmetics Regulation).

Last reviewed 6 November 2026.

Related ingredients

Talk to your pediatrician about anything concerning.