Alumina
- This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
Other Concerns
Enhanced skin absorption, Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (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
Alumina is the name used for inorganic compound aluminium oxide.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
-
LOWCancer
-
HIGHAllergies & Immunotoxicity
-
LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
-
LOWUse 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 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.