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Data: Good

Lactic Acid

  • 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

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (high), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● 2-HYDROPROPANOIC ACID
● 2-HYDROXY- PROPANOIC ACID
● 2-HYDROXYPROPANOIC ACID
● 2-HYDROXYPROPIONIC ACID
● A-HYDROXYPROPANOIC ACID
● LACTATE
● LACTIC ACID
● PROPANOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-

Restricted

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

Lactic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid; naturally produced in the process of bacterial fermentation, for example milk fermentation. Lactic acid is frequently used as an exfoliant and in anti-wrinkle products.

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

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conditioner292 products
facial moisturizer/treatment186 products
mask157 products
serums & essences128 products
shampoo119 products
hair treatment/serum113 products
facial cleanser107 products
exfoliant/scrub106 products
moisturizer95 products
body wash/cleanser90 products
lip gloss60 products
toners/astringents54 products
lipstick53 products
lip plumper46 products
around-eye cream32 products
hair styling aide32 products
makeup primer21 products
hand cream20 products
hair color and bleaching18 products
antiperspirant/deodorant17 products
hair-loss treatment17 products
styling gel/lotion16 products
makeup remover16 products
daily use with SPF14 products
foot cleansing14 products
liquid hand soap12 products
bar soap11 products
lip liner11 products
foot moisturizer10 products
sunless tanning10 products
styling mousse/foam10 products
detangler10 products
lip balm10 products
nail polish10 products
anti-aging9 products
foundation9 products
facial cleansing wipes7 products
after shave6 products
body spray6 products
recreational sunscreen6 products
hair spray6 products
blush6 products
skin fading/lightener5 products
concealer5 products
baby wipes5 products
nail treatment4 products
4 products
fragrance for men4 products
body firming lotion3 products
baby shampoo3 products
brow liner3 products
eye shadow3 products
facial powder3 products
bath oil/salts/soak3 products
beard cleanser3 products
bubble bath3 products
body cleansing wipes3 products
baby soap2 products
shaving cream (men's)2 products
baby lotion2 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
cuticle treatment2 products
setting powder/spray2 products
eye liner2 products
eye makeup remover1 products
after sun product1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
mouthwash1 products
shaving cream1 products
bronzer/highlighter1 products
body oil1 products
hand sanitizer1 products
toothpaste1 products
baby toothpaste1 products
makeup removing wipes1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)1 products
glitter1 products
exfoliant/scrub - large particle1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Allowable pH limitsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmeticsCanada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of any irritationOpen scientific literature

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – scientific review cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsOpen scientific literature

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Single case study detailing occupational hazardsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Prohibited for use in foodOpen 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
143272 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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

Ecotoxicology

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

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
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
  • 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.
  • Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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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