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Data: Fair

Alcohol Denatured

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)

SYNONYMS

● ALCOHOL DENAT.
● ALCOHOL DENATURED
● ALCOHOL, COMPLETELY DENATURED
● DENATURED ALCOHOL, DESIGNATED BY THE GOVERNMENT
● DENATURED ALCOHOL, NOT DESIGNATED BY THE GOVERNMENT
● DESIGNATED BY THE GOVERNMENT DENATURED ALCOHOL
● NOT DESIGNATED BY THE GOVERNMENT DENATURED ALCOHOL
● SD ALCOHOL 1

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.


Denatured alcohol is a mixture of ethanol (ethyl alcohol) with a denaturing agent. Ethanol is considered broadly toxic and linked to birth defects following excessive oral ingestion. Potential risks from ethanol in personal care products are significantly smaller than the health risks posed by the consumption of alcohol.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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fragrance for women337 products
foundation211 products
shampoo207 products
body spray204 products
hair spray204 products
recreational sunscreen158 products
mascara144 products
fragrance for men132 products
mask121 products
facial moisturizer/treatment106 products
hair styling aide97 products
nail polish88 products
concealer83 products
antiperspirant/deodorant82 products
serums & essences82 products
hair treatment/serum72 products
eye liner67 products
moisturizer61 products
eye shadow55 products
brow liner53 products
setting powder/spray48 products
toners/astringents46 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)41 products
hand sanitizer40 products
daily use with SPF35 products
conditioner34 products
around-eye cream33 products
facial cleanser28 products
makeup primer26 products
styling gel/lotion25 products
after shave24 products
lipstick22 products
sunless tanning21 products
BB cream20 products
body wash/cleanser19 products
exfoliant/scrub18 products
eyelash glue17 products
hair color and bleaching16 products
baby sunscreen16 products
anti-aging15 products
nail treatment15 products
bronzer/highlighter15 products
after sun product15 products
body firming lotion11 products
mouthwash10 products
styling mousse/foam8 products
tanning oil7 products
glitter7 products
makeup remover6 products
liquid hand soap6 products
foot cleansing6 products
pore strips6 products
hand cream5 products
detangler5 products
body oil4 products
polish remover4 products
4 products
bar soap4 products
body cleansing wipes4 products
muscle/joint soreness4 products
body powder4 products
blush3 products
beard care3 products
foot moisturizer2 products
bath oil/salts/soak2 products
lip balm2 products
lip gloss2 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
foot odor control1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
tooth whitening1 products
baby wipes1 products
facial powder1 products
CC cream1 products
makeup removing wipes1 products
baby oil1 products
nail glue1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerOpen scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information availableFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - anyOpen scientific literature
Insufficient data to determine safetyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
78649 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyOpen scientific literature
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.

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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September 23, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

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