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Data: Good

Isopropyl Alcohol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high), and Occupational hazards (moderate)

SYNONYMS

1-METHYLETHANOL, 2-HYDROXYPROPANE, 2-PROPANOL, 2PROPANOL, ISOPROPANOL, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, PROPAN-2-OL, and SEC-PROPYL ALCOHOL

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

Isopropyl alcohol is a common solvent.

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

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nail polish747 products
conditioner330 products
hair color and bleaching163 products
hair treatment/serum91 products
hand sanitizer82 products
shampoo64 products
mask38 products
hair styling aide35 products
nail treatment35 products
lip gloss29 products
mascara28 products
moisturizer20 products
styling gel/lotion13 products
facial cleanser10 products
hair spray10 products
body wash/cleanser9 products
exfoliant/scrub9 products
detangler7 products
serums & essences7 products
after sun product6 products
polish remover6 products
body firming lotion6 products
facial moisturizer/treatment5 products
toners/astringents5 products
nail glue5 products
after shave4 products
BB cream4 products
body oil4 products
foot moisturizer4 products
4 products
hand cream3 products
bath oil/salts/soak3 products
foot cleansing3 products
around-eye cream3 products
makeup primer3 products
hair-loss treatment2 products
beard cleanser2 products
styling mousse/foam2 products
liquid hand soap2 products
bar soap2 products
eye liner2 products
foundation2 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
eyelash glue1 products
brow liner1 products
beard care1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
daily use with SPF1 products
lipstick1 products
CC cream1 products
anti-aging1 products
toothpaste1 products
makeup remover1 products
setting powder/spray1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerOpen scientific literature

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as any irritantOpen scientific literature

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Moderate evidence of occupational hazardsOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of occupational hazardsOpen scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as toxic or harmful.Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs
Associated with any toxicityOpen scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature

Data gaps

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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 productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
112675 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Informational

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Neurotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
nervous system - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox studyNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.

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.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

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