EWG Skin Deep® | What is BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE

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Data: Limited

Benzethonium Chloride

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Neurotoxicity (low), Endocrine disruption (low), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM, N,N-DIMETHYL-N-[2-[2-[4-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY]ETHYL]-, CHLORIDE; BENZYLDIMETHYL[2-[2-[4-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY]ETHYL]AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

● BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM, N,NDIMETHYLN[2[2[4(1,1,3,3TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY]ETHYL], CHLORIDE

● BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE

● BENZETHONIUM CHLORIDE SOLUTION

● BENZYL(DIMETHYL)(2-{2-[4-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY)-ETHYL)AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

● DIIS OBUTYL PHENOXY ETHOXY ETHYL DIMETHYL BENZYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

● N,N-DIMETHYL-N-[2-[2-[4-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY]ETHYL]-, BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM

● N,N-DIMETHYL-N-[2-[2-[4-(1,1,3,3-TETRAMETHYLBUTYL)PHENOXY]ETHOXY]ETHYL]BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Benzethonium Chloride is a quaternary ammonium salt. In the United States, Benzethonium Chloride may be used as an active ingredient in OTC drug products. When used as an active drug ingredient, the established name is Benzethonium Chloride.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
HIGH

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foot odor control	5 products
body powder	4 products
hand sanitizer	4 products
body cleansing wipes	3 products
facial cleansing wipes	3 products
body wash/cleanser	2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	2 products
hair treatment/serum	1 products
baby wipes	1 products
body spray	1 products
cuticle treatment	1 products
shaving cream	1 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	1 products
mask	1 products
makeup remover	1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature
Possible human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in some types of cosmetics (concentration limit)	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics	Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Possible human any toxicant	Open scientific literature
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Neurotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells demonstrate neurotoxicity	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show any effects at moderate doses	Open scientific literature

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature

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
400 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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