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Data: Limited

Quaternium 18

Other Concerns

Neurotoxicity (low), Endocrine disruption (low), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● BIS(HYDROGENATED TALLOW ALKYL)DIMETHYL CHLORIDES QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
● BIS(HYDROGENATED TALLOW)DIMETHYLAMMONIUM CHLORIDE
● CHLORIDES QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS, BIS(HYDROGENATED TALLOW ALKYL)DIMETHYL
● DIMETHYL DI(HYDROGENATED TALLOW) AMMONIUM CHLORIDE
● QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS, BIS(HYDROGENATED TALLOW ALKYL)DIMETHYL, CHLORIDES
● QUATERNIUM-18

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient


Quaternium-18 is a quaternary ammonium salt.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
conditioner31 products
hair treatment/serum8 products
detangler4 products
brow liner4 products
hair-loss treatment4 products
hair styling aide3 products
serums & essences1 products
makeup primer1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
Possible human any toxicant or allergenOpen scientific literature

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
Possible human any toxicantOpen scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show any effects at moderate dosesOpen scientific literature

Neurotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells demonstrate neurotoxicityOpen scientific literature

Endocrine disruption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruptionOpen 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 - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
4 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 - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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

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