EWG Skin Deep® | What is ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C)

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● L-ASCORBIC ACID

● ASCORBIC ACID

● ASCORBIC ACID (VITAMIN C)

● VITAMIN C

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) is a naturally occurring antioxidant.

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

moisturizer	180 products
hair color and bleaching	159 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	143 products
serums & essences	135 products
shampoo	121 products
mask	113 products
conditioner	101 products
exfoliant/scrub	96 products
facial cleanser	64 products
hair treatment/serum	61 products
body wash/cleanser	56 products
sunless tanning	56 products
foundation	48 products
around-eye cream	47 products
concealer	40 products
lipstick	37 products
daily use with SPF	35 products
recreational sunscreen	33 products
hand cream	30 products
eye liner	24 products
toners/astringents	22 products
anti-aging	21 products
hair styling aide	20 products
facial powder	12 products
lip balm	12 products
hair spray	11 products
bath oil/salts/soak	11 products
makeup primer	10 products
setting powder/spray	10 products
after sun product	9 products
bubble bath	9 products
bronzer/highlighter	9 products
makeup remover	8 products
nail treatment	8 products
bar soap	8 products
styling gel/lotion	7 products
lip balm with SPF	7 products
skin fading/lightener	6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	6 products
body spray	5 products
BB cream	5 products
baby sunscreen	5 products
	5 products
liquid hand soap	4 products
detangler	4 products
blush	4 products
beard oil	4 products
mouthwash	3 products
mascara	3 products
tanning oil	3 products
baby lotion	3 products
beard care	3 products
foot moisturizer	2 products
shaving cream	2 products
body oil	2 products
damaged skin treatment	2 products
beard cleanser	2 products
makeup removing wipes	2 products
eye shadow	1 products
brow liner	1 products
eye makeup remover	1 products
styling mousse/foam	1 products
nail polish	1 products
depilatory	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
after shave	1 products
lip gloss	1 products
eyelash glue	1 products
hair-loss treatment	1 products
CC cream	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products
polish remover	1 products
baby toothpaste	1 products
pore strips	1 products
vapor rubs	1 products

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
66172 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	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

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

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

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.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.

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