EWG Skin Deep® | What is ALUMINA

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Good

Alumina

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

Enhanced skin absorption, Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● ACTIVATED ALUMINA

● ALUMINA

● ALUMINA, ACTIVATED

● ALUMINA, CALCINED

● ALUMINA, TABULAR

● ALUMINIUM OXIDE

● ALUMINUM OXIDE

● ALUMINUM OXIDE (AL2O3)

● ALUMINUM OXIDE; ALUMINUM OXIDE; DELTA ALUMINA; THETA ALUMINA

● ALUMINUM SESQUIOXIDE

● ALUMINUM TRIOXIDE

● CALCINED ALUMINA

● TABULAR ALUMINA

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

Alumina is the name used for inorganic compound aluminium oxide.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
HIGH

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

lipstick	404 products
foundation	316 products
concealer	268 products
lip gloss	207 products
eye shadow	124 products
eye liner	112 products
bronzer/highlighter	110 products
nail polish	105 products
recreational sunscreen	94 products
blush	91 products
daily use with SPF	75 products
lip balm	55 products
facial powder	32 products
BB cream	23 products
around-eye cream	22 products
	20 products
lip liner	19 products
baby sunscreen	18 products
makeup primer	17 products
lip plumper	13 products
exfoliant/scrub	11 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	7 products
body oil	6 products
hair color and bleaching	6 products
facial cleanser	6 products
brow liner	6 products
body powder	5 products
bar soap	4 products
hair styling aide	3 products
bath oil/salts/soak	3 products
mask	3 products
CC cream	3 products
skin fading/lightener	2 products
hair treatment/serum	2 products
setting powder/spray	2 products
mascara	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
anti-aging	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
moisturizer	1 products
lip balm with SPF	1 products
hair spray	1 products
toothpaste	1 products
body wash/cleanser	1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin	Open scientific literature
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin	Nanomaterial Database

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Open scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humans	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of any toxicity	Scorecard.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

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Cancer - limited evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show tumor formation at high doses	Open scientific literature
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans	Open scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
26589 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
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.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
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.

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.

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