Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Castor Oil

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (low)

SYNONYMS

● CASTER OIL
● CASTOR OIL
● CASTOR OIL (RICINUS COMMUNIS L.)
● CASTOR OIL; VEGETABLE OIL
● CASTOR SEED OIL
● RICINUS COMMUNIS (CASTOR) SEED OIL
● RICINUS COMMUNIS OIL
● RICINUS COMMUNIS(CASTOR)

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Castor Oil is extracted from the seeds of Ricinus communis, a castor oil plant.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • MODERATE
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
lipstick766 products
lip balm485 products
lip gloss390 products
blush210 products
bar soap209 products
hair treatment/serum185 products
brow liner148 products
shampoo140 products
concealer134 products
conditioner125 products
eye shadow95 products
hair styling aide95 products
bronzer/highlighter90 products
mascara86 products
eye liner76 products
recreational sunscreen60 products
moisturizer58 products
mask58 products
facial cleanser53 products
facial moisturizer/treatment51 products
foundation51 products
lip plumper50 products
beard oil47 products
beard care44 products
lip balm with SPF43 products
exfoliant/scrub41 products
body wash/cleanser40 products
body oil36 products
styling gel/lotion29 products
antiperspirant/deodorant28 products
serums & essences23 products
liquid hand soap23 products
hair color and bleaching21 products
baby sunscreen20 products
diaper cream18 products
around-eye cream17 products
baby lotion16 products
hand cream16 products
shaving cream (men's)14 products
lip liner13 products
daily use with SPF12 products
shaving cream10 products
hair removal waxes10 products
makeup primer9 products
detangler9 products
makeup remover8 products
bath oil/salts/soak8 products
hair spray8 products
glitter8 products
BB cream8 products
8 products
cuticle treatment7 products
fragrance for women6 products
hand sanitizer6 products
nail treatment5 products
foot moisturizer4 products
anti-aging4 products
baby soap4 products
depilatory3 products
styling mousse/foam3 products
body firming lotion3 products
damaged skin treatment3 products
hair-loss treatment3 products
body spray2 products
foot cleansing2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)2 products
beard cleanser2 products
after shave2 products
toothpaste2 products
muscle/joint soreness1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
facial powder1 products
baby shampoo1 products
bubble bath1 products
mouthwash1 products
CC cream1 products
eyelash glue1 products
nail polish1 products
toners/astringents1 products
nail glue1 products
tanning oil1 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products
setting powder/spray1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of reproductive toxicityOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any effects at moderate dosesOpen scientific literature

Biochemical or cellular level changes

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show any changes at moderate doses where the human health implications are not yet well understoodOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemicalCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
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
1871 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

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

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humansOpen scientific literature

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

Discover a curated selection of healthier beauty and personal care products. Donate today to get your EWG VERIFIED® holiday gift set!

GET IT NOW