EWG Skin Deep® | What is ETHYLPARABEN

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Data: Fair

Ethylparaben

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low) and Endocrine disruption (moderate)

SYNONYMS

4-HYDROXY- ETHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, ETHYL ESTER, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, ETHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, ETHYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, ETHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, ETHYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, ETHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, ETHYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE, ETHYL ESTER 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, ETHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, ETHYL ESTER SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, ETHYL ESTER SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, ETHYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE, ETHYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE SODIUM SALT, ETHYL PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE, ETHYLPARABEN, ETHYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT, ETHYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT, POTASSIUM ETHYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT ETHYLPARABEN, SODIUM 4-ETHOXYCARBONYLPHENOXIDE, SODIUM ETHYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, ETHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, ETHYL ESTER, and SODIUM SALT ETHYLPARABEN

Restricted

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

Ethylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	94 products
concealer	60 products
moisturizer	58 products
mascara	40 products
eye shadow	39 products
daily use with SPF	28 products
eye liner	27 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	25 products
blush	14 products
hair styling aide	14 products
anti-aging	13 products
sunless tanning	12 products
facial cleanser	12 products
around-eye cream	11 products
serums & essences	10 products
conditioner	9 products
bronzer/highlighter	9 products
styling gel/lotion	8 products
hair treatment/serum	8 products
facial powder	7 products
mask	7 products
body firming lotion	7 products
hand cream	6 products
lip liner	6 products
shampoo	4 products
hair color and bleaching	4 products
after shave	4 products
recreational sunscreen	4 products
makeup primer	4 products
setting powder/spray	4 products
styling mousse/foam	3 products
foot moisturizer	3 products
brow liner	3 products
shaving cream	3 products
hand sanitizer	3 products
hair-loss treatment	3 products
body wash/cleanser	2 products
makeup remover	2 products
exfoliant/scrub	2 products
BB cream	2 products
hair spray	1 products
skin fading/lightener	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
cuticle treatment	1 products
body powder	1 products
baby sunscreen	1 products
polish remover	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidence	European Commission on Endocrine Disruption
One or more studies show significant wildlife and the environment disruption	European Commission on Endocrine Disruption
Limited evidence of endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human immune toxicant or allergen - moderate evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune or allergenic effects	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

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
193 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

Informational

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

EU (European Union)- Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters 2007. Commision on endocrin disruption requested by the European Parliament in 1998.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
EWG Assessment of Open Scientific 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). 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