EWG Skin Deep® | What is HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Good

Hydrogen Peroxide

This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around mouth due to increased risk of ingestion and absorption.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use on lips due to increased risk of ingestion and absorption.
Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
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 (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● HYDROGEN DIOXIDE

● HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

● HYDROGEN PEROXIDE (H2O2)

● HYDROGEN PEROXIDE; HYDROGEN PEROXIDE

Restricted

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

Hydrogen peroxide is used as an antimicrobial agent and a biocide.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

tooth whitening	82 products
hair color and bleaching	56 products
hand sanitizer	53 products
toothpaste	29 products
mouthwash	19 products
liquid hand soap	6 products
body wash/cleanser	6 products
conditioner	3 products
hair styling aide	3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	2 products
toners/astringents	2 products
	2 products
shampoo	2 products
mask	1 products
hair treatment/serum	1 products
serums & essences	1 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
facial cleanser	1 products

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics	Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	CosIng

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as medium human health priority	Open scientific literature
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as toxic or harmful	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicity	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of skin irritation	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	Open scientific literature
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Open scientific literature

Miscellaneous

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handling	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps	Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans	Open scientific literature

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistent	Open scientific literature
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Open scientific literature

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
70091 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	Open scientific literature

Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
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). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
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.
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.
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