Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Ammonium Hydroxide

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Ecotoxicology (low), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● AMMONIA SOLUTION, STRONG
● AMMONIA WATER
● AMMONIA, AQUEOUS SOLUTION
● AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE
● AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE ((NH4)(OH))
● AQUA AMMONIUM
● HARTSHORN SPIRIT
● SPIRIT OF HARTSHORN
● STRONG AMMONIA SOLUTION

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation


Ammonium hydroxide is a caustic inorganic base (an alkaline substance).

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • HIGH
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
hair color and bleaching185 products
eye liner52 products
mascara32 products
eyelash glue9 products
facial moisturizer/treatment8 products
brow liner6 products
serums & essences5 products
facial cleanser4 products
hair treatment/serum4 products
moisturizer3 products
shampoo3 products
makeup primer3 products
exfoliant/scrub3 products
hand cream2 products
toners/astringents2 products
hair styling aide2 products
conditioner2 products
body firming lotion2 products
styling gel/lotion2 products
daily use with SPF1 products
around-eye cream1 products
recreational sunscreen1 products
after shave1 products
concealer1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products
nail polish1 products
mask1 products
hair perm1 products
hair spray1 products
nail treatment1 products
tooth whitening1 products
foot moisturizer1 products

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humansEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicityNational Library of Medicine HazMap
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of skin irritationNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Miscellaneous

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Prohibited for use in foodOpen scientific literature
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
1082 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP