Citric Acid
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (moderate)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
Citric acid is an alpha hydroxy acid used in personal care products to adjust the acidity or promote skin peeling and re-growth in the case of anti-aging products. Citric acid is naturally found in citric fruits and juices, providing the characteristic acidic taste.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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MODERATEUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
shampoo | 1991 products |
body wash/cleanser | 1456 products |
conditioner | 1339 products |
liquid hand soap | 998 products |
facial cleanser | 633 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 610 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 522 products |
hair treatment/serum | 504 products |
moisturizer | 492 products |
serums & essences | 412 products |
mask | 386 products |
hair styling aide | 273 products |
foundation | 229 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 226 products |
hair color and bleaching | 189 products |
nail polish | 186 products |
toners/astringents | 181 products |
baby wipes | 176 products |
around-eye cream | 155 products |
eye liner | 154 products |
recreational sunscreen | 154 products |
baby shampoo | 148 products |
daily use with SPF | 148 products |
lip balm | 144 products |
lipstick | 138 products |
bubble bath | 133 products |
baby soap | 126 products |
brow liner | 117 products |
makeup remover | 110 products |
hand cream | 109 products |
bar soap | 100 products |
styling gel/lotion | 92 products |
concealer | 89 products |
toothpaste | 86 products |
sunless tanning | 76 products |
makeup primer | 75 products |
detangler | 69 products |
mascara | 66 products |
hair spray | 63 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 63 products |
blush | 62 products |
eye shadow | 60 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 59 products |
lip gloss | 59 products |
hand sanitizer | 53 products |
setting powder/spray | 53 products |
baby lotion | 49 products |
styling mousse/foam | 48 products |
mouthwash | 43 products |
shaving cream | 42 products |
anti-aging | 41 products |
hair-loss treatment | 33 products |
baby bubble bath | 32 products |
body firming lotion | 32 products |
lip liner | 31 products |
body spray | 30 products |
body cleansing wipes | 30 products |
29 products | |
after sun product | 26 products |
beard cleanser | 25 products |
baby sunscreen | 23 products |
facial cleansing wipes | 22 products |
fragrance for women | 20 products |
skin fading/lightener | 19 products |
after shave | 19 products |
nail treatment | 18 products |
eye makeup remover | 15 products |
foot moisturizer | 15 products |
tooth whitening | 15 products |
eyelash glue | 15 products |
beard care | 14 products |
CC cream | 13 products |
baby toothpaste | 12 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 12 products |
BB cream | 12 products |
body oil | 11 products |
lip balm with SPF | 11 products |
makeup removing wipes | 9 products |
facial powder | 8 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 8 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 7 products |
damaged skin treatment | 7 products |
foot cleansing | 5 products |
glitter | 5 products |
lip plumper | 4 products |
other eye makeup | 4 products |
oil controller | 3 products |
nail glue | 3 products |
diaper cream | 2 products |
fragrance for men | 2 products |
depilatory | 2 products |
hair removal waxes | 2 products |
hair relaxer | 2 products |
vapor rubs | 2 products |
tanning oil | 2 products |
foot odor control | 2 products |
polish remover | 1 products |
baby oil | 1 products |
beard oil | 1 products |
pore strips | 1 products |
exfoliant/scrub - large particle | 1 products |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics | Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 |
20950 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Not suspected to be persistent | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
- Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
- 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.
- EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
- 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.
- 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 SCORESHazard 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.