EWG Skin Deep® | What is ISOHEXADECANE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Isohexadecane

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

● 2,2,4,4,6,6,8 HEPTAMETHYLNONANE

● 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-HEPTAMETHYL- NONANE

● 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-HEPTAMETHYLNONANE

● ISOHEXADECANE

● NONANE, 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-HEPTAMETHYL-

● NONANE, 2,2,4,4,6,8,8HEPTAMETHYL

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

Isohexadecane is a branched chain hydrocarbon with 16 carbons; it is a component of petroleum; used as a skin-conditioning agent in personal care products.

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

foundation	166 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	142 products
lipstick	130 products
moisturizer	72 products
daily use with SPF	63 products
recreational sunscreen	55 products
concealer	48 products
around-eye cream	45 products
eye shadow	36 products
hand cream	34 products
conditioner	30 products
makeup remover	29 products
makeup primer	27 products
brow liner	27 products
mask	26 products
serums & essences	25 products
bronzer/highlighter	18 products
sunless tanning	18 products
BB cream	18 products
eye liner	17 products
anti-aging	17 products
hair treatment/serum	17 products
facial cleanser	16 products
	16 products
lip gloss	16 products
blush	15 products
baby sunscreen	12 products
body firming lotion	11 products
lip liner	11 products
mascara	10 products
body oil	8 products
hair styling aide	6 products
hair spray	5 products
exfoliant/scrub	4 products
lip balm	4 products
eye makeup remover	4 products
body powder	3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	3 products
detangler	2 products
glitter	2 products
lip balm with SPF	2 products
beard care	2 products
after sun product	2 products
foot odor control	1 products
lip plumper	1 products
body spray	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
facial powder	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
foot moisturizer	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as toxic or harmful.	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Data gaps

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

EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
Open scientific/peer reviewed 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.

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