EWG Skin Deep® | What is EDTA

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Edta

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

SYNONYMS

(ETHYLENEDINITRILO)TETRA- ACETIC ACID, 3,6-BIS(CARBOXYMETHYL)- 3,6-DIAZAOCTANEDIOIC ACID, 3,6-DIAZAOCTANEDIOIC ACID, 3,6-BIS(CARBOXYMETHYL)-, ACETIC ACID, (ETHYLENEDINITRILO)TETRA-, EDETIC ACID, EDTA, ETHYLENE DIAMINE TETRA ACETIC ACID, ETHYLENEDIAMINETETRAACETIC ACID, GLYCINE, N,N 1,2ETHANEDIYLBIS[N(CARBOXYMETHYL), GLYCINE, N,N'-1,2-ETHANEDI YLBIS[N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)-, N,N'-1,2-ETHANEDI YLBIS[N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)- GLYCINE, N,N'-1,2-ETHANEDIYLBIS[N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)GLYCINE, and N,N'-1,2-ETHANEDIYLBIS[N-(CARBOXYMETHYL)GLYCINE]

Restricted

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

EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is a chelating agent, used to sequester and decrease the reactivity of metal ions that may be present in a product.

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

hair color and bleaching	67 products
conditioner	55 products
hair treatment/serum	12 products
hair styling aide	10 products
shampoo	9 products
moisturizer	7 products
tooth whitening	7 products
foundation	7 products
daily use with SPF	6 products
facial cleanser	6 products
hair-loss treatment	5 products
bar soap	5 products
detangler	4 products
mask	4 products
hand cream	4 products
toners/astringents	3 products
body firming lotion	3 products
nail treatment	2 products
styling gel/lotion	2 products
serums & essences	2 products
liquid hand soap	2 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	2 products
recreational sunscreen	2 products
eye liner	1 products
baby lotion	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	1 products
after sun product	1 products
blush	1 products
baby sunscreen	1 products
bronzer/highlighter	1 products
exfoliant/scrub	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
mascara	1 products
body wash/cleanser	1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Penetration enhancer	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as irritant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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 product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
48193 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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