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Data: Fair

Polyoxymethylene Urea (Formaldehyde Releaser)

  • This ingredient is unacceptable for use in EWG VERIFIED products
  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.

Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

● CARBAMIDE-FORMALDEHYDE COPOLYMER
● FORMALDEHYDE, UREA ADDUCT; UREA, REACTION PRODUCTS WITH FORMALDEHYDE
● POLYMER WITH FORMALDEHYDE UREA
● POLYNOXYLIN
● POLYOXYMETHYLENE UREA
● POLYOXYMETHYLENE UREA (FORMALDEHYDE RELEASER)
● UREA, POLYMER WITH FORMALDEHYDE
● UREA, REACTION PRODUCTS WITH FORMALDEHYDE
● UREA-FORMALDEHYDE RESIN

Restricted - Unaccpetable

The score of this ingredient can vary from Restricted to Unacceptable based on the method of product consumption. For instance, when used in aerosol-based products, this ingredient may pose a risk to respiratory health, leading to a higher score

Click here for more information about ingredient scores


Polyoxymethylene Urea is a reaction product of urea and formaldehyde.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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setting powder/spray2 products
blush1 products
body powder1 products

Contamination concerns

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Chemical
FORMALDEHYDE

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergenOpen scientific literature
Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceAssociation of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humansEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Cancer - limited evidenceOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - anyOpen scientific literature
9316 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyOpen scientific literature
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • 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 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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