Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Linoleic Acid

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Multiple, additive exposure sources (low), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● (Z,Z)-9,12-OCTADECADIENOIC ACID
● 9,12-OCTADECADIENOIC ACID
● 9,12-OCTADECADIENOIC ACID (9Z,12Z)-
● 9,12OCTADECADIENOIC ACID (Z,Z)
● LINOLEIC ACID

Restricted

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


Linoleic acid is a naturally occurring unstaurated fatty acid.

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
facial moisturizer/treatment62 products
lipstick58 products
around-eye cream29 products
moisturizer28 products
serums & essences20 products
hair treatment/serum16 products
mask15 products
conditioner13 products
facial cleanser11 products
shampoo10 products
lip balm9 products
daily use with SPF8 products
blush8 products
exfoliant/scrub7 products
hand cream7 products
bronzer/highlighter6 products
toners/astringents6 products
recreational sunscreen5 products
anti-aging5 products
lip gloss5 products
body wash/cleanser5 products
makeup remover5 products
4 products
body firming lotion3 products
makeup primer3 products
hair styling aide3 products
baby lotion2 products
BB cream2 products
oil controller2 products
hair-loss treatment2 products
facial cleansing wipes1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
after shave1 products
baby oil1 products
hair spray1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant1 products
foundation1 products
bar soap1 products
concealer1 products

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information availableOpen scientific literature
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

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyOpen scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
any or allergies - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
13585 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
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

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • 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.

Score legend

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

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP