EWG Skin Deep® | What is ISOCETYL STEARATE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Isocetyl Stearate

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low) and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● ISOCETYL ESTER OCTADECANOIC ACID

● ISOCETYL ESTER STEARIC ACID

● ISOCETYL STEARATE

● ISOCETYL STEARATE; ISOCETYL STEARATE; ISOHEXADECYL STEARATE; ISOHEXADECYL STEARATE

● ISOHEXADECYL ESTER OCTADECANOIC ACID

● ISOHEXADECYL STEARATE

● OCTADECANOIC ACID, ISOCETYL ESTER

● OCTADECANOIC ACID, ISOHEXADECYL ESTER

● STEARIC ACID, ISOCETYL ESTER

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Isocetyl Stearate is an ester of Isocetyl Alcohol (q.v.) and stearic acid.

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

lip gloss	64 products
lipstick	45 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	10 products
moisturizer	8 products
lip liner	6 products
daily use with SPF	4 products
serums & essences	4 products
around-eye cream	3 products
lip balm	3 products
lip balm with SPF	2 products
blush	1 products
after sun product	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
hair treatment/serum	1 products
brow liner	1 products
	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Use restrictions

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

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or 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

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

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