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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Castor Oil

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

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, and RICINUS COMMUNIS(CASTOR)

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's 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
lipstick784 products
lip balm514 products
lip gloss386 products
bar soap225 products
hair treatment/serum176 products
blush130 products
shampoo129 products
conditioner122 products
brow liner116 products
hair styling aide85 products
concealer73 products
eye liner71 products
lip balm with SPF67 products
beard care67 products
moisturizer66 products
recreational sunscreen66 products
mascara63 products
exfoliant/scrub59 products
foundation59 products
facial moisturizer/treatment57 products
facial cleanser53 products
beard oil50 products
mask48 products
bronzer/highlighter48 products
lip plumper47 products
eye shadow45 products
body wash/cleanser43 products
styling gel/lotion37 products
lip liner32 products
body oil31 products
serums & essences26 products
liquid hand soap25 products
baby sunscreen24 products
hair color and bleaching22 products
hand cream21 products
diaper cream19 products
shaving cream (men's)19 products
around-eye cream18 products
antiperspirant/deodorant18 products
daily use with SPF17 products
shaving cream10 products
bath oil/salts/soak10 products
baby lotion10 products
glitter10 products
fragrance for women10 products
makeup primer10 products
10 products
detangler9 products
foot moisturizer8 products
makeup remover7 products
cuticle treatment7 products
nail treatment6 products
hair removal waxes5 products
anti-aging5 products
hand sanitizer5 products
damaged skin treatment5 products
hair spray4 products
baby soap4 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)4 products
beard cleanser4 products
bubble bath3 products
hair-loss treatment3 products
muscle/joint soreness2 products
body spray2 products
body firming lotion2 products
foot cleansing2 products
fragrance for men2 products
BB cream2 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
facial powder1 products
baby shampoo1 products
mouthwash1 products
toners/astringents1 products
nail glue1 products
tanning oil1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of reproductive toxicityOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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

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
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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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

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

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