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

Data: Good

Mineral Oil

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
  • Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

Other Concerns

Persistence and bioaccumulation (low) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● DEOBASE
● HEAVY MINERAL OIL
● LIGHT MINERAL OIL
● LIQUID PARAFFIN
● LIQUID PETROLATUM
● MINERAL OIL
● MINERAL OIL HYDROCARBON SOLVENT (PETROLEUM); MINERAL OIL (SATURATED PARRAFIN OIL)
● PARAFFIN OIL
● PARAFFIN OILS
● PARAFFINUM LIQUIDUM
● PETROLEUM WHITE MINERAL OIL
● PROLATUM OIL
● WHITE MINERAL OIL, PETROLEUM

Restricted

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


Mineral Oil is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum.

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
moisturizer344 products
lip gloss339 products
lip balm159 products
lipstick135 products
antiperspirant/deodorant116 products
eye shadow116 products
facial moisturizer/treatment96 products
hair color and bleaching74 products
conditioner68 products
hair styling aide63 products
bronzer/highlighter62 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)59 products
hair treatment/serum57 products
hand cream55 products
recreational sunscreen52 products
lip plumper42 products
styling gel/lotion39 products
concealer39 products
exfoliant/scrub38 products
eye liner36 products
mask35 products
diaper cream27 products
body oil27 products
foundation26 products
depilatory26 products
baby oil26 products
brow liner26 products
lip balm with SPF24 products
bar soap24 products
body firming lotion22 products
facial cleanser22 products
body wash/cleanser20 products
blush20 products
hair removal waxes19 products
sunless tanning15 products
lip liner15 products
tanning oil13 products
foot moisturizer13 products
baby lotion12 products
facial powder12 products
shaving cream11 products
setting powder/spray11 products
hair spray11 products
anti-aging10 products
after shave9 products
around-eye cream9 products
damaged skin treatment9 products
beard care9 products
serums & essences8 products
bath oil/salts/soak7 products
makeup remover7 products
skin fading/lightener7 products
cuticle treatment7 products
glitter7 products
baby sunscreen7 products
nail treatment6 products
after sun product5 products
shampoo5 products
liquid hand soap4 products
body spray4 products
hair relaxer4 products
shaving cream (men's)3 products
eye makeup remover3 products
makeup primer3 products
BB cream3 products
fragrance for women3 products
daily use with SPF2 products
baby soap2 products
nail polish2 products
muscle/joint soreness2 products
2 products
foot odor control2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
beard oil2 products
hand sanitizer2 products
depilatory (men's)1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
detangler1 products
eyelash glue1 products
mascara1 products
body art1 products
makeup removing wipes1 products
baby shampoo1 products
bubble bath1 products
pore strips1 products
beard cleanser1 products
hair perm1 products
nail glue1 products
baby powder1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceAssociation of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Possible human immune system toxicant or allergenNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityOpen scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Ingredient is suspected or measured to accumulate in peopleOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be persistentOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeOpen scientific literature

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Cancer - limited evidenceScorecard.org Toxicity Information

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
4094 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinOpen scientific literature
  • AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
  • 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.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • 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