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

Data: Limited

Sodium Pca

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low) and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● 5-OXO- MONOSODIUM SALT DL-PROLINE
● 5-OXO-DL-PROLINE, MONOSODIUM SALT
● DL-PROLINE, 5-OXO-, MONOSODIUM SALT
● MONOSODIUM SALT 5-OXO-DL-PROLINE
● MONOSODIUM SALT DL-PROLINE, 5-OXO-
● PCA SODA
● SODIUM 5-OXO-L-PROLINATE
● SODIUM DL-2-PYRROLIDONE-5-CARBOXYLATE
● SODIUM DL-PYRROLIDONECARBOXYLATE SOLUTION
● SODIUM PCA
● SODIUM PYROGLUTAMATE

Restricted

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


Sodium PCA is a derivative of naturally occurring amino acid proline; it is used as a conditioning 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
foundation187 products
facial moisturizer/treatment167 products
shampoo147 products
moisturizer121 products
conditioner118 products
serums & essences97 products
facial cleanser88 products
hair treatment/serum71 products
body wash/cleanser68 products
concealer67 products
mask65 products
toners/astringents58 products
daily use with SPF58 products
around-eye cream47 products
exfoliant/scrub37 products
hand cream28 products
hair styling aide28 products
hair spray23 products
styling gel/lotion13 products
anti-aging12 products
liquid hand soap11 products
baby lotion10 products
makeup remover9 products
after shave8 products
sunless tanning8 products
lip gloss8 products
detangler7 products
makeup primer7 products
brow liner7 products
blush7 products
body firming lotion6 products
recreational sunscreen5 products
foot moisturizer4 products
baby soap4 products
hair color and bleaching4 products
bar soap4 products
setting powder/spray4 products
baby shampoo3 products
after sun product3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant3 products
3 products
hair-loss treatment3 products
skin fading/lightener2 products
BB cream2 products
beard care2 products
lip balm2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
makeup removing wipes2 products
beard cleanser2 products
cuticle treatment1 products
body spray1 products
nail treatment1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
mascara1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
shaving cream1 products
eye shadow1 products
other eye makeup1 products
lipstick1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products
bubble bath1 products
baby toothpaste1 products
hand sanitizer1 products

Contamination concerns

Expand content Collapse content
Chemical
NITROSAMINES

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
2 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • 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

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