EWG Skin Deep® | What is DIATOMACEOUS EARTH

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Diatomaceous Earth

This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Persistence and bioaccumulation (high) and Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)

SYNONYMS

DIATOMACEOUS EARTH, DIATOMACEOUS SILICA, DIATOMITE, INFUSORIAL EARTH, KIESELGUHR, and SILICEOUS EARTH

Restricted

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

Diatomaceous Earth is a mineral material consisting chiefly of the siliceous frustules andfragments of various species of diatoms.

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

nail polish	25 products
lipstick	23 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	18 products
mask	10 products
toothpaste	5 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	4 products
daily use with SPF	4 products
mascara	3 products
facial cleanser	2 products
styling gel/lotion	2 products
shampoo	2 products
hair styling aide	2 products
tooth whitening	2 products
bar soap	1 products
around-eye cream	1 products
recreational sunscreen	1 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	1 products

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to very low doses	National Library of Medicine HazMap
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available	FDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
1497 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
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.
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