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Data: Limited

Ceteareth 20

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● CETEARETH-20
● PEG-20 CETOSTEARYL ALCOHOL
● PEG-20 CETYL/STEARYL ETHER
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 1000 CETYL/STEARYL ETHER
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (20) CETYL/STEARYL ETHER

Restricted

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


Ceteareth-20 is the polyethylene glycol ether of cetearyl alcohol; may contain potentially toxic impurities such as 1,4-dioxane.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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moisturizer240 products
hair color and bleaching182 products
facial moisturizer/treatment104 products
hair styling aide85 products
conditioner74 products
mask45 products
hair treatment/serum43 products
styling gel/lotion30 products
hand cream24 products
exfoliant/scrub23 products
facial cleanser23 products
makeup remover19 products
sunless tanning19 products
recreational sunscreen19 products
depilatory16 products
daily use with SPF15 products
around-eye cream14 products
body firming lotion14 products
anti-aging13 products
serums & essences12 products
lipstick9 products
lip gloss9 products
baby lotion8 products
muscle/joint soreness8 products
shampoo8 products
foot moisturizer7 products
body wash/cleanser7 products
skin fading/lightener6 products
bar soap6 products
shaving cream5 products
hair spray5 products
makeup removing wipes5 products
mascara4 products
detangler4 products
beard care4 products
hand sanitizer3 products
nail treatment3 products
foundation3 products
BB cream3 products
fragrance for women2 products
concealer2 products
after shave2 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
toners/astringents2 products
baby oil2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
baby sunscreen2 products
cuticle treatment1 products
depilatory (men's)1 products
liquid hand soap1 products
baby wipes1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
foot cleansing1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
hair relaxer1 products
makeup primer1 products
1 products
setting powder/spray1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products
tanning oil1 products

Contamination concerns

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Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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

Ecotoxicology

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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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