Other Concerns
Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (low), Contamination concerns (high), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (high)SYNONYMS
Unacceptable
Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient
A derivative of the once-popular PABA sunscreen ingredient, research shows this chemical releases free radicals, damages DNA, has estrogenic activity, and causes allergic reactions in some people.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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MODERATEUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
hair spray | 4 products |
hair treatment/serum | 4 products |
conditioner | 3 products |
serums & essences | 1 products |
lip balm with SPF | 1 products |
moisturizer | 1 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 1 products |
Contamination concerns
Chemical |
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NITROSAMINES |
Enhanced skin absorption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Penetration enhancer | Open scientific literature |
Biochemical or cellular level changes
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease. | Open scientific literature |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in some types of cosmetics (concentration limit) | Japan's Standards for Cosmetics |
Endocrine disruption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption | Open scientific literature |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | Open scientific literature |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Associated with immunotoxicity or allergies | Open scientific literature |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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20352 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
- 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.
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 SCORESHazard 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.
Data availability
The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.