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.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Occupational hazards (high)SYNONYMS
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.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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HIGHUse 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 SCORESHazard 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.