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Data: Fair

Petrolatum

  • 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

Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● MINERAL GREASE (PETROLATUM)
● MINERAL JELLY
● PETROLATUM
● PETROLATUM AMBER
● PETROLATUM WHITE
● PETROLEUM JELLY
● YELLOW PETROLATUM

Restricted

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


Petrolatum is a semisolid mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum.

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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moisturizer375 products
lipstick162 products
lip balm128 products
hair styling aide115 products
antiperspirant/deodorant93 products
body wash/cleanser59 products
facial moisturizer/treatment53 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)48 products
eye liner47 products
lip gloss45 products
hand cream42 products
eye shadow35 products
styling gel/lotion31 products
diaper cream29 products
lip balm with SPF26 products
body firming lotion25 products
bar soap24 products
baby lotion23 products
hair treatment/serum19 products
concealer18 products
conditioner17 products
exfoliant/scrub17 products
bronzer/highlighter16 products
shaving cream14 products
sunless tanning14 products
facial cleanser12 products
mask12 products
around-eye cream12 products
brow liner10 products
lip plumper9 products
damaged skin treatment8 products
lip liner8 products
tooth whitening8 products
recreational sunscreen7 products
blush6 products
anti-aging5 products
beard care5 products
foot moisturizer4 products
after sun product4 products
after shave4 products
hair relaxer4 products
daily use with SPF4 products
liquid hand soap4 products
facial powder3 products
hair color and bleaching3 products
makeup primer2 products
hand sanitizer2 products
shaving cream (men's)2 products
nail treatment1 products
foundation1 products
makeup remover1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
muscle/joint soreness1 products
glitter1 products
detangler1 products
baby oil1 products
fragrance for women1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
body art1 products
hair spray1 products
serums & essences1 products
1 products
foot odor control1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
bubble bath1 products
body cleansing wipes1 products

Contamination concerns

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Chemical
PAHS

Use restrictions

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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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as a high human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Ingredient is suspected or measured to accumulate in peopleOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

Ecotoxicology

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
1901 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/ .
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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.
  • 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

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