Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED™
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Dmdm Hydantoin (Formaldehyde Releaser)

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● 1,3-BIS(HYDROXYMETHYL)-5,5-DIMETHYL- 2,4-IMIDAZOLIDINEDIONE
● 1,3-BIS(HYDROXYMETHYL)-5,5-DIMETHYLIMIDAZOLIDINE-2,4-DIONE
● 1,3-BIS(HYDROXYMETHYL)-5,5-DIMETHYLIMIDAZOLIDINE-2,4-DIONE(+)
● 1,3-DIHYDROXYMETHYL-5,5 DIMETHYLHYDANTOIN
● 1,3-DIMETHYLOL-5,5-DIMETHYL HYDANTOIN
● 2,4-IMIDAZOLIDINEDIONE, 1,3-BIS(HYDROXYMETHYL)-5,5-DIMETHYL-
● 2,4IMIDAZOLIDINEDIONE, 1,3BIS(HYDROXYMETHYL)5,5DIMETHYL
● DMDM HYDANTOIN
● DMDM HYDANTOIN (FORMALDEHYDE RELEASER)

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

DMDM hydantoin is an antimicrobial formaldehyde releaser preservative. People exposed to such formaldehyde-releasing ingredients may develop a formaldehyde allergy or an allergy to the ingredient itself and its decomposition products. In the U.S., approximately 20% of cosmetics and personal care products contain a formaldehyde-releaser and the frequency of contact allergy to these ingredients is much higher among Americans compared to studies in Europe.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo79 products
conditioner71 products
hair styling aide60 products
moisturizer48 products
liquid hand soap44 products
body wash/cleanser41 products
styling gel/lotion36 products
hair treatment/serum32 products
foundation20 products
facial moisturizer/treatment18 products
concealer12 products
facial cleanser11 products
styling mousse/foam10 products
hand cream8 products
foot moisturizer7 products
exfoliant/scrub6 products
daily use with SPF6 products
body firming lotion6 products
mask6 products
hand sanitizer5 products
baby wipes5 products
serums & essences4 products
after sun product4 products
eye liner3 products
bubble bath3 products
after shave3 products
glitter3 products
3 products
brow liner2 products
around-eye cream2 products
toners/astringents2 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
baby soap2 products
makeup primer2 products
BB cream2 products
beard care2 products
hair color and bleaching2 products
anti-aging2 products
hair spray2 products
body spray2 products
beard cleanser1 products
hair relaxer1 products
foot odor control1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
baby shampoo1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)1 products
shaving cream1 products
detangler1 products
sunless tanning1 products
foot cleansing1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
makeup remover1 products
baby lotion1 products

Contamination concerns

Expand content Collapse content
Chemical
FORMALDEHYDE

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Known human immune toxicant or allergenOpen scientific literature
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergiesNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - prohibited for use in some types of cosmeticsJapan's Standards for Cosmetics

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Cancer - limited evidenceOpen scientific literature

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
24 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP