EWG Skin Deep® | What is BORON NITRIDE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Boron Nitride

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption

SYNONYMS

● BORON NITRIDE

● BORON NITRIDE (BN)

Restricted

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

Boron nitride is a synthetic boron-based inorganic compound used in cosmetics and personal care products to increase adherence and act as oil absorbent.

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

eye shadow	621 products
foundation	367 products
blush	189 products
bronzer/highlighter	160 products
concealer	153 products
brow liner	113 products
setting powder/spray	58 products
facial powder	49 products
lipstick	40 products
lip liner	27 products
BB cream	16 products
around-eye cream	15 products
eye liner	15 products
makeup primer	14 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	13 products
serums & essences	8 products
lip gloss	7 products
daily use with SPF	3 products
skin fading/lightener	3 products
CC cream	2 products
	2 products
glitter	1 products
eyelash glue	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
foot moisturizer	1 products
hand cream	1 products
moisturizer	1 products
anti-aging	1 products
mask	1 products
shampoo	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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
3475 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	Open scientific literature

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
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.

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