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Data: Fair

Zinc Pyrithione

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

● (T-4)-BIS(1-HYDROXY-2(1H0-PYRIDINETHIONATO-O,S) ZINC
● BIS(1-HYDROXY-2(1H)-PYRIDINETHIONATO)- ZINC
● BIS(1-HYDROXY-2(1H)-PYRIDINETHIONATO)ZINC
● PYRITHIONE ZINC
● ZINC BIS(2-PYRIDYLTHIO)-N-OXIDE
● ZINC PYRITHIONE
● ZINC PYRITHIONE SUSPENSION
● ZINC, BIS(1-HYDROXY-2(1H)-PYRIDINETHIONATO)-
● ZINC, BIS(1HYDROXY2(1H)PYRIDINETHIONATOO,S), (T4)
● ZINC, BIS[1-(HYDROXY-.KAPPA.O)-2(1H)-PYRIDINETHIONATO-.KAPPA.S2]-, (T-4)-

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient


Zinc Pyrithione is an aromatic zinc compound. In the United States, Zinc Pyrithione may be used as an active ingredient in OTC drug products. When used as an active drug ingredient, the established name for Zinc Pyrithione is Pyrithione Zinc.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo51 products
conditioner32 products
hair treatment/serum6 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
beard cleanser1 products
bar soap1 products
moisturizer1 products
body wash/cleanser1 products

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmeticsOpen scientific literature
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in some types of cosmetics (concentration limit)Japan's Standards for Cosmetics

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humansEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlifeCanada PBTs - Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET)
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Possible human reproductive or developmental toxinOpen scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
248 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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/ .
  • Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 1994. Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET). ARET substance list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals.
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
  • 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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