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 | 1758 products |
eye shadow | 1181 products |
lipstick | 1049 products |
concealer | 883 products |
moisturizer | 849 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 628 products |
conditioner | 471 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 470 products |
daily use with SPF | 421 products |
blush | 388 products |
recreational sunscreen | 317 products |
hand cream | 237 products |
hair treatment/serum | 237 products |
eye liner | 221 products |
shampoo | 213 products |
facial powder | 191 products |
around-eye cream | 188 products |
mask | 181 products |
CC cream | 177 products |
makeup primer | 170 products |
serums & essences | 167 products |
brow liner | 151 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 143 products |
body firming lotion | 133 products |
hair styling aide | 128 products |
setting powder/spray | 103 products |
BB cream | 99 products |
lip gloss | 85 products |
lip liner | 80 products |
nail polish | 71 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 69 products |
hair color and bleaching | 67 products |
anti-aging | 66 products |
mascara | 64 products |
baby lotion | 60 products |
57 products | |
styling gel/lotion | 51 products |
sunless tanning | 50 products |
lip balm | 46 products |
baby sunscreen | 41 products |
glitter | 37 products |
body wash/cleanser | 28 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 26 products |
makeup remover | 25 products |
nail treatment | 24 products |
foot moisturizer | 23 products |
facial cleanser | 22 products |
shaving cream | 20 products |
after shave | 19 products |
hair spray | 19 products |
hand sanitizer | 19 products |
lip balm with SPF | 16 products |
detangler | 15 products |
diaper cream | 13 products |
damaged skin treatment | 13 products |
skin fading/lightener | 11 products |
after sun product | 10 products |
other eye makeup | 8 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 7 products |
body oil | 7 products |
pore strips | 7 products |
cuticle treatment | 6 products |
foot cleansing | 6 products |
styling mousse/foam | 5 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 5 products |
beard care | 5 products |
oil controller | 4 products |
baby oil | 4 products |
lip plumper | 4 products |
bar soap | 4 products |
beard cleanser | 4 products |
toners/astringents | 3 products |
body spray | 3 products |
baby wipes | 3 products |
foot odor control | 2 products |
tanning oil | 2 products |
liquid hand soap | 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 |
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.