EWG Skin Deep® | What is LAURETH-23

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Laureth 23

This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around the eyes due to increased risk of 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.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● ALPHA-DODECYL-OMEGA-HYDROXYPOLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL)

● LAURETH-23

● PEG-23 LAURYL ETHER

● POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL), .ALPHA.-DODECYL-.OMEGA.-HYDROXY-

● POLY(OXY1,2ETHANEDIYL), Î±DODECYLÏ‰HYDROXY

● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL (23) LAURYL ETHER

● POLYOXYETHYLENE (23) LAURYL ETHER

Restricted

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

Laureth-23 is a polyethylene glycol ether of Lauryl Alcohol (q.v.).

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

hair color and bleaching	48 products
shampoo	43 products
moisturizer	27 products
shaving cream	25 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	18 products
styling gel/lotion	13 products
shaving cream (men's)	13 products
hair styling aide	13 products
conditioner	12 products
glitter	12 products
hair treatment/serum	11 products
serums & essences	10 products
bronzer/highlighter	6 products
styling mousse/foam	4 products
sunless tanning	3 products
mask	3 products
body wash/cleanser	3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	2 products
foot moisturizer	2 products
toners/astringents	2 products
daily use with SPF	2 products
exfoliant/scrub	1 products
setting powder/spray	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products
around-eye cream	1 products
eye shadow	1 products
hair spray	1 products
hand cream	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
hair relaxer	1 products
detangler	1 products
after sun product	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed	Open scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemical	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
3314 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

Informational

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

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.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
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.

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