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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Laureth 4

  • 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), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● 3,6,9,12-TETRAOXATETRACOSAN-1-OL
● LAURETH-4
● LAURYL ALCOHOL TRI(OXYETHYLENE) ETHANOL
● PEG-4 LAURYL ETHER
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 200 LAURYL ETHER
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (4) LAURYL ETHER
● TETRAETHYLENE GLYCOL DODECYL ETHER

Restricted

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

Laureth-4 is a synthetic polymer composed of lauryl alcohol and PEG (polyethylene glycol). Due to the presence of PEG, this ingredient may contain potentially toxic manufacturing impurities such as 1,4-dioxane.

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

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo147 products
foundation74 products
body wash/cleanser64 products
liquid hand soap57 products
moisturizer35 products
hair color and bleaching31 products
bronzer/highlighter28 products
daily use with SPF24 products
conditioner23 products
blush23 products
facial moisturizer/treatment21 products
styling mousse/foam20 products
lipstick19 products
facial cleanser18 products
hair treatment/serum18 products
eye shadow15 products
serums & essences13 products
concealer13 products
glitter12 products
hair spray12 products
styling gel/lotion11 products
around-eye cream9 products
hair styling aide8 products
bubble bath7 products
setting powder/spray7 products
antiperspirant/deodorant6 products
hand cream5 products
exfoliant/scrub4 products
sunless tanning4 products
3 products
toners/astringents3 products
baby shampoo3 products
baby soap2 products
bath oil/salts/soak2 products
mask2 products
foot moisturizer2 products
mascara2 products
anti-aging2 products
detangler2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)2 products
after shave2 products
body oil1 products
lip gloss1 products
baby lotion1 products
beard care1 products
beard cleanser1 products
makeup primer1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
bar soap1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
hair relaxer1 products
beard oil1 products

Contamination concerns

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Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemicalCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
40 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

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
  • 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
  • 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.

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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