Polysorbate 80
- 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 (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Contamination concerns (high)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
Polysorbate 80 is a surfactant and emulsifier used in cleaners and personal care products.
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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LOWUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
hair color and bleaching | 141 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 81 products |
foundation | 61 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 55 products |
moisturizer | 48 products |
mask | 45 products |
serums & essences | 41 products |
toothpaste | 39 products |
hand cream | 35 products |
around-eye cream | 35 products |
facial cleanser | 26 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 25 products |
conditioner | 25 products |
hair treatment/serum | 24 products |
eye shadow | 23 products |
makeup primer | 21 products |
mouthwash | 19 products |
body wash/cleanser | 19 products |
hair styling aide | 19 products |
shampoo | 17 products |
brow liner | 17 products |
daily use with SPF | 17 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 16 products |
sunless tanning | 14 products |
eye liner | 14 products |
styling gel/lotion | 14 products |
hair spray | 14 products |
mascara | 12 products |
11 products | |
blush | 11 products |
styling mousse/foam | 10 products |
toners/astringents | 9 products |
anti-aging | 8 products |
lip balm with SPF | 7 products |
BB cream | 7 products |
lip liner | 7 products |
nail treatment | 7 products |
after shave | 7 products |
body firming lotion | 6 products |
foot moisturizer | 5 products |
recreational sunscreen | 5 products |
hair-loss treatment | 4 products |
liquid hand soap | 4 products |
after sun product | 4 products |
tooth whitening | 4 products |
lip balm | 3 products |
makeup remover | 3 products |
bar soap | 3 products |
concealer | 2 products |
foot cleansing | 2 products |
foot odor control | 2 products |
detangler | 2 products |
baby shampoo | 2 products |
damaged skin treatment | 2 products |
lipstick | 2 products |
setting powder/spray | 2 products |
facial powder | 1 products |
body spray | 1 products |
baby oil | 1 products |
tanning oil | 1 products |
baby soap | 1 products |
skin fading/lightener | 1 products |
baby sunscreen | 1 products |
eyelash glue | 1 products |
nail polish | 1 products |
Contamination concerns
Chemical |
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ETHYLENE OXIDE |
1,4-DIOXANE |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity | Scorecard.org Toxicity Information |
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Classified as a low human health priority | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed | Open scientific literature |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any | Open scientific literature |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
122419 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
- ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- 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.
- 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.
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.