Dimethicone
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (moderate), Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
Dimethicone (also called polymethylsiloxane) is a silicon-based polymer used as a lubricant and conditioning agent.
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
foundation | 1722 products |
eye shadow | 1118 products |
lipstick | 1038 products |
moisturizer | 931 products |
concealer | 831 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 617 products |
conditioner | 494 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 468 products |
daily use with SPF | 388 products |
blush | 363 products |
recreational sunscreen | 319 products |
eye liner | 285 products |
hair treatment/serum | 267 products |
shampoo | 221 products |
hand cream | 216 products |
around-eye cream | 193 products |
mask | 183 products |
CC cream | 180 products |
brow liner | 177 products |
serums & essences | 175 products |
makeup primer | 165 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 164 products |
hair styling aide | 144 products |
facial powder | 140 products |
nail polish | 114 products |
BB cream | 106 products |
lip gloss | 97 products |
setting powder/spray | 97 products |
lip liner | 83 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 57 products |
mascara | 57 products |
anti-aging | 56 products |
hair color and bleaching | 54 products |
baby lotion | 52 products |
sunless tanning | 52 products |
styling gel/lotion | 51 products |
lip balm | 46 products |
45 products | |
body firming lotion | 43 products |
baby sunscreen | 39 products |
glitter | 36 products |
facial cleanser | 28 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 26 products |
foot moisturizer | 23 products |
nail treatment | 23 products |
after shave | 22 products |
makeup remover | 22 products |
hair spray | 21 products |
body wash/cleanser | 20 products |
shaving cream | 20 products |
hand sanitizer | 18 products |
detangler | 16 products |
damaged skin treatment | 14 products |
lip balm with SPF | 13 products |
diaper cream | 10 products |
skin fading/lightener | 10 products |
body oil | 9 products |
other eye makeup | 8 products |
after sun product | 8 products |
pore strips | 7 products |
cuticle treatment | 6 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 6 products |
styling mousse/foam | 5 products |
lip plumper | 5 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 5 products |
beard care | 5 products |
toners/astringents | 4 products |
body spray | 4 products |
tanning oil | 4 products |
beard cleanser | 4 products |
foot odor control | 3 products |
baby oil | 3 products |
liquid hand soap | 3 products |
bar soap | 3 products |
baby wipes | 3 products |
hair-loss treatment | 2 products |
body cleansing wipes | 2 products |
foot cleansing | 2 products |
makeup removing wipes | 2 products |
eye makeup remover | 1 products |
oil controller | 1 products |
baby soap | 1 products |
hair relaxer | 1 products |
tooth whitening | 1 products |
depilatory | 1 products |
body powder | 1 products |
eyelash glue | 1 products |
beard oil | 1 products |
polish remover | 1 products |
toothpaste | 1 products |
baby shampoo | 1 products |
nail glue | 1 products |
baby bubble bath | 1 products |
body art | 1 products |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans | Open scientific literature |
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife | Open scientific literature |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panel | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
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 |
218 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
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 |
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- 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.
- 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.
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.