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Data: Limited

Beeswax

Other Concerns

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● BEESWAX
● BEESWAX ABSOLUTE
● BEESWAX CONCRETE
● BEESWAX, WHITE (APIS MELLIFERA L.)
● BEESWAX; BEESWAX ABSOLUTE; BEESWAX, ABSOLUTE; BEESWAX OIL, ABSOLUTE; BEESWAX WHITE; BEESWAX (WHITE); BEESWAX YELLOW; YELLOW BEESWAX
● BLEACHED BEESWAX
● CERA ALBA
● WHITE (APIS MELLIFERA L.) BEESWAX
● WHITE BEESWAX
● WHITE WAX
● YELLOW WAX

Restricted

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


Beeswax is the purified wax from the honeycomb of the bee, Apis mellifera. This ingredient is listed in the PETA's Caring Consumer guide as a substance of animal origin.

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

Expand content Collapse content
lip balm700 products
lipstick514 products
moisturizer259 products
mascara256 products
recreational sunscreen237 products
foundation175 products
lip gloss168 products
concealer161 products
hair styling aide130 products
brow liner125 products
facial moisturizer/treatment114 products
blush109 products
eye liner108 products
antiperspirant/deodorant102 products
lip liner76 products
lip balm with SPF67 products
beard care60 products
diaper cream59 products
bronzer/highlighter56 products
hand cream48 products
daily use with SPF43 products
eye shadow42 products
baby lotion42 products
hair treatment/serum41 products
baby sunscreen39 products
exfoliant/scrub36 products
mask36 products
styling gel/lotion30 products
around-eye cream30 products
fragrance for women28 products
bar soap23 products
damaged skin treatment22 products
makeup primer20 products
hair color and bleaching19 products
conditioner17 products
facial cleanser15 products
foot moisturizer15 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)12 products
hair removal waxes10 products
serums & essences10 products
cuticle treatment9 products
depilatory9 products
muscle/joint soreness8 products
anti-aging8 products
body wash/cleanser7 products
BB cream7 products
lip plumper6 products
6 products
nail treatment5 products
makeup remover5 products
hair spray5 products
after sun product5 products
body oil5 products
shaving cream (men's)5 products
baby soap5 products
after shave4 products
facial powder3 products
skin fading/lightener3 products
shaving cream3 products
body firming lotion2 products
shampoo2 products
eye makeup remover1 products
sunless tanning1 products
other eye makeup1 products
toners/astringents1 products
foot cleansing1 products
foot odor control1 products
liquid hand soap1 products
baby powder1 products
tanning oil1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of any irritationOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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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 productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
598 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

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

Ecotoxicology

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • 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.

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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