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

Data: Limited

Polyisobutene

Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● 1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER; 1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER(C4H8)X, X = 17; 1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER(C4H8)X, X = 17
● 1-PROPENE,-2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER
● 1PROPENE, 2METHYL, HOMOPOLYMER
● 2-METHYL-1-PROPENE, HOMOPOLYMER
● HOMOPOLYMER 1-PROPENE,-2-METHYL-
● HOMOPOLYMER 2-METHYL-1-PROPENE
● ISOBUTENE HOMOPOLYMER
● ISOBUTYLENE HOMOPOLYMER
● PERMETHYL 108A
● POLYISOBUTENE
● POLYISOBUTYLENE

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.


Polyisobutene is a synthetic polymer of isobutylene; used as a film-forming agent.

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
lip gloss227 products
lip balm112 products
eye liner106 products
lipstick86 products
eye shadow72 products
bronzer/highlighter49 products
facial moisturizer/treatment45 products
brow liner32 products
moisturizer32 products
mask27 products
concealer26 products
lip liner25 products
mascara24 products
serums & essences23 products
around-eye cream18 products
daily use with SPF18 products
lip plumper16 products
blush16 products
foundation13 products
hair styling aide12 products
recreational sunscreen11 products
makeup primer7 products
hand cream6 products
exfoliant/scrub6 products
hair treatment/serum5 products
facial cleanser5 products
shaving cream (men's)4 products
anti-aging4 products
glitter3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant3 products
styling gel/lotion3 products
body firming lotion3 products
sunless tanning2 products
shaving cream2 products
facial powder2 products
hair removal waxes2 products
beard cleanser1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
beard care1 products
foot odor control1 products
after shave1 products
baby lotion1 products
body oil1 products
makeup remover1 products
hair color and bleaching1 products
shampoo1 products
bath oil/salts/soak1 products
1 products
bar soap1 products
pore strips1 products
hair spray1 products
foot moisturizer1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

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

Ecotoxicology

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
194 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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