EWG Skin Deep® | What is ENSULIZOLE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Ensulizole

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) and Biochemical or cellular level changes (high)

SYNONYMS

● 1H-BENZIMIDAZOLE-5-SULFONIC ACID, 2-PHENYL-

● 1HBENZIMIDAZOLE5SULFONIC ACID, 2PHENYL

● 2-PHENYL-1H-BENZIMIDAZOLE-5-SULPHONIC ACID

● 2-PHENYL-5-SULFOBENZIMIDAZOLE

● 2-PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOLE-5-SULFONIC ACID

● EINECS 248-502-0

● ENSULIZOLE

● ENSULIZOLE (PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOLE SULFONIC ACID)

● PBSA

● PHENYLBENZIMIDAZOLE SULFONIC ACID

Restricted

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

Known to produce free radicals when exposed to sunlight, leading to damage of DNA, this UVB protector may have the potential to cause cancer.

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

foundation	24 products
daily use with SPF	7 products
hair-loss treatment	3 products
makeup primer	2 products
shampoo	1 products
BB cream	1 products
recreational sunscreen	1 products

Biochemical or cellular level changes

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - prohibited for use in some types of cosmetics	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results	Open scientific literature

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not likely to be a skin irritant in humans	Open scientific literature

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
345 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
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.

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