Other Concerns
Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)SYNONYMS
This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.
Stearic acid is a naturally occurring fatty acid. It is listed in the PETA's Caring Consumer guide as a substance of animal origin, since stearic acid is primarily derived from rendered fat of farm and domestic animals.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
-
LOWCancer
-
LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
-
LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
-
LOWUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
moisturizer | 755 products |
foundation | 442 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 418 products |
mascara | 415 products |
hand cream | 234 products |
brow liner | 231 products |
body wash/cleanser | 195 products |
bar soap | 166 products |
facial cleanser | 142 products |
hair color and bleaching | 137 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 119 products |
daily use with SPF | 117 products |
mask | 114 products |
shaving cream | 111 products |
recreational sunscreen | 106 products |
around-eye cream | 87 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 70 products |
blush | 64 products |
body firming lotion | 56 products |
lip balm | 55 products |
concealer | 51 products |
baby lotion | 47 products |
shampoo | 47 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 46 products |
lipstick | 43 products |
serums & essences | 42 products |
liquid hand soap | 39 products |
eye liner | 36 products |
hair styling aide | 35 products |
anti-aging | 34 products |
conditioner | 34 products |
BB cream | 34 products |
hair treatment/serum | 33 products |
makeup primer | 29 products |
sunless tanning | 24 products |
foot moisturizer | 23 products |
setting powder/spray | 22 products |
after shave | 18 products |
eye shadow | 18 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 16 products |
lip gloss | 15 products |
styling gel/lotion | 14 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 14 products |
lip balm with SPF | 13 products |
baby soap | 11 products |
after sun product | 10 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 10 products |
baby shampoo | 10 products |
hand sanitizer | 10 products |
baby sunscreen | 9 products |
lip liner | 8 products |
lip plumper | 7 products |
damaged skin treatment | 7 products |
beard care | 7 products |
6 products | |
bath oil/salts/soak | 5 products |
cuticle treatment | 4 products |
skin fading/lightener | 4 products |
CC cream | 4 products |
foot odor control | 4 products |
bubble bath | 4 products |
foot cleansing | 3 products |
diaper cream | 3 products |
makeup remover | 3 products |
body oil | 3 products |
nail treatment | 2 products |
tanning oil | 2 products |
toners/astringents | 2 products |
other eye makeup | 2 products |
facial powder | 2 products |
detangler | 2 products |
body spray | 2 products |
toothpaste | 2 products |
mouthwash | 2 products |
nail glue | 2 products |
depilatory | 1 products |
baby bubble bath | 1 products |
glitter | 1 products |
eye makeup remover | 1 products |
tooth whitening | 1 products |
beard oil | 1 products |
beard cleanser | 1 products |
other men's products | 1 products |
baby oil | 1 products |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available | Open scientific literature |
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 |
---|---|
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 |
4584 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Cancer
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans | EPA Water Disinfection By-Products Carcinogenicity |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
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 |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- 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.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
- NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
- EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2006. EPA Water Disinfection By-Products with Carcinogenicity Estimates. Last updated: 10 April 2006.
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.