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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Cetyl Alcohol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● 1-HEXADECANOL
● CETANOL
● CETYL ALCOHOL
● HEXADECAN-1-OL
● N-HEXADECYL ALCOHOL
● PALMITYL ALCOHOL

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

Cetyl alcohol is a long chain organic alcohol; according to the PETA's Caring Consumer guide, this ingredient can be of either animal or plant origin.

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
moisturizer924 products
conditioner883 products
facial moisturizer/treatment515 products
hair treatment/serum246 products
hand cream232 products
hair color and bleaching179 products
mask162 products
shampoo151 products
lipstick135 products
exfoliant/scrub134 products
daily use with SPF132 products
hair styling aide125 products
body firming lotion123 products
around-eye cream117 products
recreational sunscreen113 products
facial cleanser95 products
mascara92 products
baby lotion82 products
concealer72 products
foundation67 products
lip balm59 products
serums & essences46 products
styling gel/lotion39 products
anti-aging37 products
antiperspirant/deodorant34 products
foot moisturizer30 products
shaving cream28 products
bar soap27 products
baby sunscreen25 products
eye shadow23 products
body wash/cleanser21 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)21 products
hair-loss treatment20 products
BB cream19 products
detangler18 products
makeup primer18 products
beard care18 products
after sun product17 products
lip balm with SPF17 products
brow liner16 products
after shave15 products
CC cream15 products
sunless tanning14 products
lip liner12 products
eye liner12 products
shaving cream (men's)12 products
12 products
blush9 products
muscle/joint soreness8 products
lip gloss7 products
makeup remover6 products
bronzer/highlighter5 products
damaged skin treatment5 products
styling mousse/foam4 products
toners/astringents4 products
hair relaxer4 products
cuticle treatment3 products
skin fading/lightener3 products
diaper cream3 products
baby shampoo3 products
nail treatment3 products
foot cleansing2 products
hair spray2 products
baby oil2 products
beard cleanser2 products
oil controller1 products
baby soap1 products
liquid hand soap1 products
tanning oil1 products
facial powder1 products
hand sanitizer1 products
setting powder/spray1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
beard oil1 products
glitter1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment 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
740 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

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

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
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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.

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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