EWG Skin Deep® | What is BENZOIC ACID

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Good

Benzoic Acid

Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate) and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)

SYNONYMS

● BENZENECARBOXYLIC ACID

● BENZENEFORMIC ACID

● BENZENEMETHANOIC ACID

● BENZOIC ACID

● BENZOIC ACID,

● CARBOXYBENZENE

● DRACYCLIC ACID

● PHENYLCARBOXYLIC ACID

● PHENYLFORMIC ACID

Restricted

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

Benzoic acid is a naturally occurring and synthetically produced substance; it is used in food and cosmetics as a preservative.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

shampoo	213 products
conditioner	153 products
moisturizer	117 products
mouthwash	88 products
facial cleanser	83 products
lipstick	80 products
hair treatment/serum	79 products
body wash/cleanser	78 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	75 products
foundation	59 products
styling gel/lotion	47 products
hair styling aide	47 products
hand cream	44 products
mask	42 products
makeup remover	41 products
concealer	40 products
serums & essences	40 products
toners/astringents	39 products
exfoliant/scrub	35 products
daily use with SPF	33 products
mascara	27 products
brow liner	26 products
liquid hand soap	25 products
sunless tanning	24 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	21 products
lip gloss	21 products
baby wipes	21 products
toothpaste	18 products
around-eye cream	17 products
recreational sunscreen	14 products
makeup primer	14 products
hair spray	13 products
detangler	11 products
body firming lotion	10 products
setting powder/spray	10 products
styling mousse/foam	8 products
eye liner	8 products
baby shampoo	7 products
bar soap	7 products
eye shadow	7 products
baby lotion	6 products
facial powder	6 products
body spray	6 products
CC cream	6 products
diaper cream	5 products
hair color and bleaching	5 products
baby soap	5 products
blush	5 products
after shave	4 products
bronzer/highlighter	4 products
after sun product	4 products
makeup removing wipes	4 products
facial cleansing wipes	4 products
anti-aging	3 products
lip balm with SPF	3 products
bath oil/salts/soak	3 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
fragrance for women	3 products
eye makeup remover	3 products
shaving cream	3 products
other eye makeup	3 products
bubble bath	3 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
	2 products
nail treatment	1 products
hand sanitizer	1 products
oil controller	1 products
skin fading/lightener	1 products
baby sunscreen	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
beard care	1 products
baby bubble bath	1 products
polish remover	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products
muscle/joint soreness	1 products
nail polish	1 products
baby toothpaste	1 products
vapor rubs	1 products
other men's products	1 products
hair removal waxes	1 products

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit)	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
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
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Insufficient data to determine safety	EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
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
16719 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

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

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans	EPA Water Disinfection By-Products Carcinogenicity
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps	EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	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

Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
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.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2006. EPA Water Disinfection By-Products with Carcinogenicity Estimates. Last updated: 10 April 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.

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