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Data: Fair

Boron Nitride

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

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

Expand content Collapse content
eye shadow472 products
foundation366 products
blush181 products
bronzer/highlighter166 products
concealer117 products
brow liner114 products
setting powder/spray59 products
lipstick49 products
facial powder40 products
lip liner24 products
BB cream19 products
lip gloss15 products
around-eye cream13 products
makeup primer12 products
facial moisturizer/treatment10 products
serums & essences10 products
daily use with SPF5 products
5 products
eye liner5 products
skin fading/lightener3 products
CC cream2 products
toners/astringents1 products
eyelash glue1 products
lip balm1 products
mask1 products
anti-aging1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skinOpen scientific literature
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skinNanomaterial Database

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
3475 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyOpen scientific literature
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
  • 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.

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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