Health Concerns of the Ingredient:
Overall Hazard
Developmental &
reproductive toxicity
About TRIETHANOLAMINE: Triethanolamine is a strongly alkaline substance used as surfactant and pH adjusting chemical.
Function(s): Fragrance Ingredient; pH Adjuster; Surfactant - Emulsifying Agent; BUFFERING; MASKING
Synonym(s): 2,2',2"-NITRILOTRIS [ETHANOL] ; 2,2',2''-NITRILOTRIETHANOL; ETHANOL, 2,2 ,2 NITRILOTRIS; ETHANOL, 2,2',2"-NITRILOTRIS-; TEA; TROLAMINE; 2,2',2''-NITRILOTRIETHANOL; ALKANOLAMINE 244; DALTOGEN; NITRILO-2,2',2''-TRIETHANOL; STEROLAMIDE
Allergies/immunotoxicity
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidence (only for
) | Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics |
| Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Use restrictions
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - | CosIng |
| Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
| Classified as medium human health priority | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
| One or more animal studies show effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient) | EPA Categorized List of Inert Pesticide Ingredients |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| 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 |
Ecotoxicology
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
| 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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
| 22,829 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical see search results -> | NLM PubMed |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
| Concern |
Reference |
|---|
| Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
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 Sources
| 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. |
| EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1987 & 2005. Office of Pesticide Programs. Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients in Pesticide Products - Categorized List of Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients. |
| European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ . |
| 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. |
| 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). |
| IFRA (International Fragrance Assocication). 2010. IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List based on 2008 Use Survey. Accessed online 01/04/2010: http://www.ifraorg.org/Home/News/Latest-News/page.aspx/66?xf_itemId=43&xf_selectionDatapartId=25 |
| NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents. |
| NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov. |
Products Containing the Ingredient
About the Skin Deep® ratings
EWG provides information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature, to supplement incomplete data available from companies and the government. The ratings below indicate the relative level of concern posed by exposure to the ingredients in this product - not the product itself - compared to other product formulations. The ratings reflect potential health hazards but do not account for the level of exposure or individual susceptibility, factors which determine actual health risks, if any.
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Beyond providing Skin Deep® as an educational tool for consumers, EWG offers its EWG VERIFIED™ mark as a quick and easily identifiable way of conveying personal care products that meet EWG's strict health criteria. Before a company can use EWG VERIFIEDTM on such products, the company must show that it fully discloses the products' ingredients on their labels or packaging, they do not contain EWG ingredients of concern, and are made with good manufacturing practices, among other criteria. Note that EWG receives licensing fees from all EWG VERIFIED member companies that help to support the important work we do.
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