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 restrictions based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

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, and SOYBEAN PHOSPHOLIPID

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
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	564 products
lipstick	291 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	190 products
moisturizer	165 products
daily use with SPF	158 products
concealer	139 products
serums & essences	120 products
eye liner	83 products
lip liner	77 products
eye shadow	68 products
recreational sunscreen	67 products
mask	66 products
brow liner	66 products
around-eye cream	61 products
facial cleanser	60 products
mascara	56 products
blush	48 products
shampoo	48 products
bronzer/highlighter	44 products
BB cream	40 products
conditioner	39 products
lip balm	38 products
lip gloss	37 products
	36 products
exfoliant/scrub	28 products
body wash/cleanser	28 products
makeup primer	24 products
hair treatment/serum	22 products
hand cream	20 products
facial powder	15 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	15 products
body firming lotion	13 products
hair-loss treatment	12 products
anti-aging	11 products
lip balm with SPF	11 products
liquid hand soap	9 products
foot moisturizer	7 products
nail treatment	7 products
toners/astringents	7 products
baby lotion	7 products
sunless tanning	7 products
baby sunscreen	7 products
styling gel/lotion	6 products
hair color and bleaching	5 products
muscle/joint soreness	5 products
baby soap	5 products
body oil	4 products
after sun product	4 products
baby shampoo	4 products
setting powder/spray	4 products
damaged skin treatment	4 products
skin fading/lightener	3 products
after shave	3 products
diaper cream	3 products
bath oil/salts/soak	3 products
makeup remover	3 products
shaving cream	2 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
baby oil	2 products
hair styling aide	2 products
baby bubble bath	2 products
beard cleanser	2 products
detangler	1 products
oil controller	1 products
CC cream	1 products
baby wipes	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
beard care	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
foot odor control	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
NITROSAMINES

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
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

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

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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
18085 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

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.
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.

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