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Data: Fair

Calcium Hydroxide

  • Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
  • 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) and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

SYNONYMS

● CALCIUM DIHYDROXIDE
● CALCIUM DIHYRDROXIDE
● CALCIUM HYDRATE
● CALCIUM HYDROXIDE
● CALCIUM HYDROXIDE (CA(OH)2)
● HYDRATED LIME
● LIME WATER

Restricted

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


Calcium Hydroxide is an inorganic base.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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depilatory18 products
shaving cream5 products
mask4 products
diaper cream3 products
conditioner2 products
baby soap2 products
facial moisturizer/treatment2 products
hair treatment/serum2 products
hair removal waxes1 products
hair styling aide1 products
baby lotion1 products
serums & essences1 products
lipstick1 products
shampoo1 products
hair relaxer1 products
facial cleanser1 products
styling gel/lotion1 products
depilatory (men's)1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as eye, skin, lung irritantOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of any irritationOpen scientific literature
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Avoid or minimize skin exposure: recommendation from industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR)Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - skinOpen scientific literature
Recommended 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

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Single case study detailing occupational hazardsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
4364 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Avoid or minimize skin exposure: recommendation from industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR)Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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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
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • 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/ .
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • 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.

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

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