Other Concerns
Enhanced skin absorption, Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
Iron oxides are inorganic chemicals used as colorants.
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
foundation | 6670 products |
lipstick | 5793 products |
concealer | 3557 products |
eye shadow | 3189 products |
lip gloss | 2381 products |
blush | 2108 products |
eye liner | 2107 products |
brow liner | 2005 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 1986 products |
nail polish | 1106 products |
lip liner | 1043 products |
mascara | 884 products |
daily use with SPF | 828 products |
lip balm | 658 products |
facial powder | 587 products |
setting powder/spray | 423 products |
CC cream | 400 products |
BB cream | 275 products |
makeup primer | 265 products |
bar soap | 216 products |
hair color and bleaching | 183 products |
lip plumper | 164 products |
mask | 158 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 157 products |
around-eye cream | 135 products |
recreational sunscreen | 115 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 110 products |
lip balm with SPF | 103 products |
shampoo | 94 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 85 products |
84 products | |
moisturizer | 79 products |
body oil | 77 products |
serums & essences | 74 products |
body wash/cleanser | 56 products |
glitter | 53 products |
facial cleanser | 48 products |
hair styling aide | 29 products |
conditioner | 24 products |
other eye makeup | 23 products |
nail treatment | 19 products |
eyelash glue | 19 products |
body powder | 16 products |
fragrance for women | 16 products |
hair treatment/serum | 15 products |
anti-aging | 14 products |
sunless tanning | 11 products |
nail glue | 11 products |
body art | 9 products |
skin fading/lightener | 8 products |
styling gel/lotion | 6 products |
hair spray | 6 products |
pore strips | 6 products |
toothpaste | 5 products |
depilatory | 5 products |
toners/astringents | 5 products |
fragrance for men | 5 products |
bubble bath | 5 products |
liquid hand soap | 4 products |
shaving cream | 4 products |
makeup remover | 4 products |
body spray | 4 products |
hair removal waxes | 4 products |
body firming lotion | 3 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 3 products |
beard cleanser | 3 products |
beard oil | 3 products |
baby shampoo | 3 products |
baby lotion | 3 products |
beard care | 2 products |
foot cleansing | 1 products |
tanning oil | 1 products |
damaged skin treatment | 1 products |
baby sunscreen | 1 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 1 products |
body cleansing wipes | 1 products |
Enhanced skin absorption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin | Open scientific literature |
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin | Nanomaterial Database |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited evidence of respiratory 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 |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmetics | FDA Color Additive Status |
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color Additives - Exempt from Batch Certification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration | CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
9326 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
- 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.
- FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additive Status List. September 2006.
- CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
- IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
- 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 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.