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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Dimethicone

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

● DIMETHICONE
● DIMETHICONE COPOLYOL
● DIMETHYL SILICONE
● DIMETHYLSILOXANE, POLY(OXYETHYLENE OXYPROPYLENE) COPOLYMER; ETHOXYLATED, PROPOXYLATED SILICONE OIL
● HIGHLY POLYMERIZED METHYL POLYSILOXANE
● METHYL POLYSILOXANE
● POLY[OXY(DIMETHYLSILYLENE)],A -(TRIMETHYLSILYL)-W -METHYL-
● SILICONE L-45
● SILOXANES AND SILICONES, DIME, HYDROXYTERMINATED, ETHOXYLATED PROPOXYLATED

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.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • MODERATE
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
foundation1722 products
eye shadow1118 products
lipstick1038 products
moisturizer931 products
concealer831 products
facial moisturizer/treatment617 products
conditioner494 products
bronzer/highlighter468 products
daily use with SPF388 products
blush363 products
recreational sunscreen319 products
eye liner285 products
hair treatment/serum267 products
shampoo221 products
hand cream216 products
around-eye cream193 products
mask183 products
CC cream180 products
brow liner177 products
serums & essences175 products
makeup primer165 products
antiperspirant/deodorant164 products
hair styling aide144 products
facial powder140 products
nail polish114 products
BB cream106 products
lip gloss97 products
setting powder/spray97 products
lip liner83 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)57 products
mascara57 products
anti-aging56 products
hair color and bleaching54 products
baby lotion52 products
sunless tanning52 products
styling gel/lotion51 products
lip balm46 products
45 products
body firming lotion43 products
baby sunscreen39 products
glitter36 products
facial cleanser28 products
exfoliant/scrub26 products
foot moisturizer23 products
nail treatment23 products
after shave22 products
makeup remover22 products
hair spray21 products
body wash/cleanser20 products
shaving cream20 products
hand sanitizer18 products
detangler16 products
damaged skin treatment14 products
lip balm with SPF13 products
diaper cream10 products
skin fading/lightener10 products
body oil9 products
other eye makeup8 products
after sun product8 products
pore strips7 products
cuticle treatment6 products
shaving cream (men's)6 products
styling mousse/foam5 products
lip plumper5 products
muscle/joint soreness5 products
beard care5 products
toners/astringents4 products
body spray4 products
tanning oil4 products
beard cleanser4 products
foot odor control3 products
baby oil3 products
liquid hand soap3 products
bar soap3 products
baby wipes3 products
hair-loss treatment2 products
body cleansing wipes2 products
foot cleansing2 products
makeup removing wipes2 products
eye makeup remover1 products
oil controller1 products
baby soap1 products
hair relaxer1 products
tooth whitening1 products
depilatory1 products
body powder1 products
eyelash glue1 products
beard oil1 products
polish remover1 products
toothpaste1 products
baby shampoo1 products
nail glue1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
body art1 products

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humansOpen scientific literature
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlifeOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panelCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
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 productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
218 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic 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 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.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

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