EWG Skin Deep® | What is COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Good

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

^†This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that will not be immediately rinsed off due to increased risk of absorption.
^†Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high) and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

1-PROPANAMINIUM, 3-AMINO-N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-, N-COCO ACYL DERIVS., INNER SALTS, 1-PROPANAMINIUM, N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-3-[(1-OXOCOCONUT)AMINO]-, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT, 1PROPANAMINIUM, 3AMINON(CARBOXYMETHYL)N,NDIMETHYL, NCOCO ACYL DERIVS., HYDROXIDES, INNER SALTS, CADG, COCAMIDO BETAINE, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, COCAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYL GLYCINE, COCOAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, COCOYL AMIDE PROPYLBETAINE, COCOYL AMIDE PROPYLDI METHYL GLYCINE SOLUTION, COCOYL AMIDE PROPYLDIMETHYL GLYCINE, HYDROXIDE INNER SALT 1-PROPANAMINIUM, N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-3-[(1-OXOCOCONUT)AMINO]-, HYDROXIDES INNER QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS, (CARBOXYMETHYL)(3-COCOAMIDOPROPYL)DIMETHYL, INNER QUATERNARY AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS, (CARBOXYMETHYL)(3-COCOAMIDOPROPYL)DIMETHYL, HYDROXIDES, INNER SALT 1-PROPANAMINIUM, N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-3-[(1-OXOCOCONUT)AMINO]-, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-3-[(1-OXOCOCONUT)AMINO]-1-PROPANAMINIUM HYDROXIDE, N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-3-[(1-OXOCOCONUT)AMINO]-1-PROPANAMINIUM HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT, N-COCAMIDOPROPYL-N,N-DIMETHYLGLYCINE, HYDROXIDE, INNER SALT; COCOAMIDOPROPYLBETAINE; N-(COCOAMIDOPROPYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-N-CARBOXYMETHYL AMMONIUM, BETAINE; N-(3-COCOAMIDOPROPYL)-N,N-DIMETHYL-N-CARBOXYMET, and SALTS

Cocamidopropyl betaine is a surfactant; it has been associated with irritation and allergic contact dermatitis, reactions that could be due to the ingredient itself or to impurities present in it, such as 3-dimethylaminopropylamine.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

shampoo	1348 products
body wash/cleanser	1198 products
liquid hand soap	745 products
facial cleanser	409 products
conditioner	185 products
toothpaste	181 products
exfoliant/scrub	132 products
bubble bath	125 products
baby shampoo	97 products
baby soap	61 products
bar soap	59 products
hair color and bleaching	54 products
bath oil/salts/soak	48 products
mask	45 products
hair treatment/serum	37 products
styling mousse/foam	36 products
baby bubble bath	23 products
beard cleanser	16 products
hair styling aide	15 products
	14 products
makeup remover	12 products
tooth whitening	10 products
sunless tanning	10 products
moisturizer	10 products
shaving cream	9 products
foot cleansing	7 products
detangler	6 products
styling gel/lotion	5 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	5 products
beard care	5 products
hair-loss treatment	4 products
eye liner	3 products
hair relaxer	3 products
baby wipes	3 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
hair spray	2 products
hand sanitizer	2 products
setting powder/spray	2 products
vapor rubs	2 products
anti-aging	2 products
baby lotion	2 products
around-eye cream	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
baby sunscreen	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products
baby toothpaste	1 products
daily use with SPF	1 products
recreational sunscreen	1 products
hand cream	1 products
after sun product	1 products
makeup primer	1 products
oil controller	1 products
serums & essences	1 products
eye makeup remover	1 products
glitter	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
COCAMIDOPROPYL DIMETHYLAMINE
3-DIMETHYLAMINOPROPYLAMINE
NITROSAMINES

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Unsafe in products left on skin and not rinsed off	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sensitization toxicity or allergies	Open scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Unsafe in products left on skin and not rinsed off	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
73236 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

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.

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