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

Data: Limited

Cetearyl Alcohol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns


SYNONYMS

● (C16-C18) ALKYL ALCOHOL; (C16-C18)-ALKYL ALCOHOL
● 1-OCTADECANOL, MIXT. WITH 1-HEXADECANOL
● ALCOHOLS, C16-18
● ALCOHOLS, C1618
● C16-18 ALCOHOLS
● CETEARYL ALCOHOL
● CETOSTEARYL ALCOHOL
● CETYL/STEARYL ALCOHOL
● MIXT. WITH 1-HEXADECANOL 1-OCTADECANOL
● UNIOX A

Restricted

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


Cetearyl Alcohol is a mixture of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that can come from vegetable or synthetic sources.

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

Expand content Collapse content
conditioner1336 products
moisturizer874 products
facial moisturizer/treatment673 products
hair treatment/serum405 products
hair color and bleaching401 products
mask336 products
hair styling aide305 products
hand cream266 products
recreational sunscreen216 products
around-eye cream166 products
daily use with SPF163 products
facial cleanser120 products
exfoliant/scrub118 products
styling gel/lotion107 products
shampoo101 products
serums & essences97 products
baby lotion82 products
antiperspirant/deodorant71 products
mascara66 products
body firming lotion65 products
anti-aging50 products
foundation47 products
brow liner46 products
detangler45 products
sunless tanning37 products
foot moisturizer35 products
concealer35 products
lipstick28 products
baby sunscreen27 products
BB cream26 products
shaving cream25 products
makeup remover25 products
body wash/cleanser25 products
beard care22 products
after shave20 products
lip balm19 products
bar soap18 products
depilatory18 products
makeup primer18 products
muscle/joint soreness17 products
hair spray14 products
skin fading/lightener13 products
11 products
shaving cream (men's)10 products
after sun product10 products
foot odor control9 products
styling mousse/foam9 products
lip liner9 products
nail treatment8 products
hair-loss treatment8 products
damaged skin treatment8 products
bronzer/highlighter7 products
lip balm with SPF7 products
cuticle treatment5 products
fragrance for women5 products
liquid hand soap5 products
blush5 products
toothpaste5 products
foot cleansing4 products
diaper cream4 products
hair relaxer4 products
makeup removing wipes4 products
hand sanitizer3 products
toners/astringents3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)3 products
body oil3 products
eye liner2 products
tanning oil2 products
baby oil2 products
glitter2 products
baby soap2 products
eye makeup remover2 products
hair removal waxes2 products
baby shampoo2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
depilatory (men's)1 products
oil controller1 products
lip plumper1 products
baby wipes1 products
bath oil/salts/soak1 products
eye shadow1 products
CC cream1 products
body spray1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
beard oil1 products
hair perm1 products
exfoliant/scrub - large particle1 products
nail glue1 products

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
62 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • 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