EWG Skin Deep® | What is LECITHIN

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Good

Lecithin

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

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (low), Multiple, additive exposure sources (low), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● EGG YOLK LECITHIN

● EGG YOLK LECITHINS

● GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) LECITHIN

● GLYCINE SOJA LECITHIN

● LECITHIN

● LECITHIN, SOYBEAN

● LECITHINS

● LECITHINS, EGG YOLK

● SOYBEAN LECITHIN

● SOYBEAN PHOSPHOLIPID

Restricted

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

Lecithin is a naturally ocurring lipid found in both plants and animals. According to the PETA's Caring Consumer guide, lecithin for com mercial purposes is most commonly obtain from eggs and soybeans.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	476 products
concealer	243 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	240 products
daily use with SPF	232 products
lipstick	229 products
moisturizer	185 products
serums & essences	140 products
around-eye cream	102 products
mask	92 products
eye liner	89 products
eye shadow	84 products
mascara	77 products
blush	65 products
recreational sunscreen	63 products
lip liner	60 products
facial cleanser	59 products
bronzer/highlighter	56 products
lip gloss	55 products
shampoo	53 products
brow liner	53 products
conditioner	51 products
lip balm	39 products
	36 products
hand cream	33 products
exfoliant/scrub	28 products
body wash/cleanser	25 products
BB cream	21 products
makeup primer	20 products
hair treatment/serum	20 products
anti-aging	15 products
toners/astringents	12 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	11 products
setting powder/spray	11 products
hair-loss treatment	10 products
facial powder	9 products
nail treatment	9 products
body firming lotion	9 products
baby lotion	9 products
sunless tanning	8 products
skin fading/lightener	6 products
body oil	6 products
liquid hand soap	6 products
lip balm with SPF	6 products
makeup remover	5 products
hair styling aide	5 products
baby sunscreen	5 products
foot moisturizer	4 products
after shave	4 products
diaper cream	4 products
after sun product	4 products
baby soap	4 products
muscle/joint soreness	3 products
styling gel/lotion	3 products
baby shampoo	3 products
damaged skin treatment	3 products
shaving cream	2 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
styling mousse/foam	2 products
baby oil	2 products
bath oil/salts/soak	2 products
baby bubble bath	2 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products
nail polish	1 products
hair spray	1 products
detangler	1 products
body spray	1 products
baby wipes	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
foot odor control	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
beard oil	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
NITROSAMINES

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Penetration enhancer	Open scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune and respiratory or allergenic effects	Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available	FDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show female reproductive system effects at high doses	Open scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Safety unknown for products that may be inhaled	Open scientific literature
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - any	Open scientific literature
18085 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
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.
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.

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