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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Cetyl Palmitate

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low)

SYNONYMS

● CETYL PALMITATE
● HEXADECANOIC ACID, HEXADECYL ESTER
● HEXADECYL ESTER HEXADECANOIC ACID
● HEXADECYL PALMITATE
● N-HEXADECYL HEXADECANOATE
● PALMITYL PALMITATE

Restricted

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

This lipid ingredient is composed of cetyl alcohol and palmitic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid.

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

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facial moisturizer/treatment61 products
moisturizer39 products
foundation35 products
conditioner24 products
recreational sunscreen22 products
eye liner21 products
facial cleanser20 products
concealer15 products
makeup remover15 products
lip balm14 products
hand cream14 products
around-eye cream13 products
lipstick13 products
mascara12 products
serums & essences12 products
daily use with SPF11 products
eye shadow10 products
hair treatment/serum10 products
mask10 products
blush7 products
lip liner6 products
nail treatment6 products
lip balm with SPF5 products
bronzer/highlighter5 products
BB cream4 products
baby lotion4 products
body firming lotion3 products
makeup removing wipes3 products
exfoliant/scrub2 products
hand sanitizer2 products
muscle/joint soreness2 products
brow liner2 products
hair styling aide2 products
body wash/cleanser2 products
baby wipes2 products
after sun product2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
after shave1 products
nail polish1 products
shampoo1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
toners/astringents1 products
setting powder/spray1 products
1 products
body spray1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
makeup primer1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
anti-aging1 products
sunless tanning1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant1 products
shaving cream1 products

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

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
74 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

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

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.
  • 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
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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