Salicylic Acid
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (high), Endocrine disruption (moderate), Multiple, additive exposure sources (low), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)SYNONYMS
Restricted - Unaccpetable
The score of this ingredient can vary from Restricted to Unacceptable based on the method of product consumption. For instance, when used in aerosol-based products, this ingredient may pose a risk to respiratory health, leading to a higher score
Click here for more information about ingredient scores
Salicylic acid is a naturally occuring and synthetically produced beta hydroxy acid used in skin treatment products.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
-
LOWCancer
-
LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
-
LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
-
HIGHUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
shampoo | 193 products |
facial cleanser | 161 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 107 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 104 products |
mask | 87 products |
serums & essences | 80 products |
toners/astringents | 47 products |
conditioner | 41 products |
body wash/cleanser | 38 products |
hair treatment/serum | 28 products |
foundation | 27 products |
concealer | 24 products |
hair color and bleaching | 23 products |
BB cream | 17 products |
moisturizer | 17 products |
bar soap | 14 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 14 products |
foot moisturizer | 9 products |
foot cleansing | 9 products |
foot odor control | 9 products |
body powder | 9 products |
makeup primer | 8 products |
makeup remover | 7 products |
after shave | 6 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 6 products |
around-eye cream | 6 products |
recreational sunscreen | 5 products |
pore strips | 4 products |
CC cream | 4 products |
shaving cream | 4 products |
daily use with SPF | 4 products |
facial cleansing wipes | 4 products |
lip balm | 4 products |
facial powder | 4 products |
anti-aging | 4 products |
damaged skin treatment | 4 products |
4 products | |
hair styling aide | 3 products |
makeup removing wipes | 2 products |
body firming lotion | 2 products |
hand cream | 2 products |
beard oil | 2 products |
hair relaxer | 1 products |
liquid hand soap | 1 products |
eye makeup remover | 1 products |
beard care | 1 products |
after sun product | 1 products |
hair spray | 1 products |
detangler | 1 products |
skin fading/lightener | 1 products |
baby wipes | 1 products |
styling gel/lotion | 1 products |
cuticle treatment | 1 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 1 products |
lip balm with SPF | 1 products |
fragrance for women | 1 products |
body spray | 1 products |
sunless tanning | 1 products |
baby shampoo | 1 products |
lip gloss | 1 products |
Enhanced skin absorption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Penetration enhancer | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any | Open scientific literature |
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any | Open scientific literature |
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any | CosIng |
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit) | Japan's Standards for Cosmetics |
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Endocrine disruption
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Possible human any disruptor | Open scientific literature |
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited evidence of skin irritation | Open scientific literature |
One or more animal studies show any irritation at low doses | Open scientific literature |
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed | Open scientific literature |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
any or allergies - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed | Open scientific literature |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – scientific review cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps | Open scientific literature |
Mutagen - limited evidence | Open scientific literature |
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans | Open scientific literature |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - any | Open scientific literature |
32066 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Open scientific literature |
- CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
- 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.
- 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. Food Additive Status List. Downloaded from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/%7Edms/opa-appa.html, Oct 16, 2006.
- 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.