EWG Skin Deep® | What is CELLULOSE GUM

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Cellulose Gum

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● ACETIC ACID, HYDROXY-, CELLULOSE ETHER

● CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE

● CARBOXYMETHYL ETHER CELLULOSE

● CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE

● CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE SODIUM SALT

● CELLULOSE ETHER ACETIC ACID, HYDROXY-

● CELLULOSE GUM

● CELLULOSE, CARBOXYMETHYL ETHER

● CELLULOSE, CARBOXYMETHYL ETHER, SODIUM SALT

● CELLULOSE, ETHER WITH GLYCOLIC ACID, SODIUM SALT

● ETHER WITH GLYCOLIC ACID SODIUM SALT CELLULOSE

● HYDROXY- CELLULOSE ETHER ACETIC ACID

● SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYL CELLULOSE

● SODIUM CARBOXYMETHYLCELLULOSE

● SODIUM CARMELLOSE

● SODIUM CMC

● SODIUM SALT CELLULOSE, ETHER WITH GLYCOLIC ACID

Restricted

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

This ingredient is a chemically-treated cellulose derivative.

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

toothpaste	220 products
foundation	189 products
mask	122 products
recreational sunscreen	79 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	53 products
serums & essences	44 products
around-eye cream	32 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	29 products
BB cream	22 products
tooth whitening	19 products
facial cleanser	17 products
body wash/cleanser	17 products
daily use with SPF	17 products
eye shadow	16 products
exfoliant/scrub	15 products
baby sunscreen	15 products
shampoo	14 products
moisturizer	14 products
concealer	12 products
eye liner	12 products
eyelash glue	11 products
mascara	11 products
baby toothpaste	10 products
makeup primer	8 products
hair color and bleaching	7 products
brow liner	6 products
liquid hand soap	5 products
toners/astringents	5 products
	5 products
bath oil/salts/soak	5 products
mouthwash	4 products
conditioner	4 products
hair styling aide	4 products
lip balm	3 products
anti-aging	3 products
hand cream	2 products
styling gel/lotion	2 products
after shave	2 products
pore strips	2 products
baby shampoo	2 products
body firming lotion	2 products
hair treatment/serum	2 products
baby wipes	1 products
setting powder/spray	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
lipstick	1 products
lip plumper	1 products
nail treatment	1 products
beard care	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products
foot moisturizer	1 products
skin fading/lightener	1 products
bronzer/highlighter	1 products
after sun product	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products

Data gaps

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 product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
14776 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 Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

Informational

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

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
Classified as a low human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
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.
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