EWG Skin Deep® | What is MAGNESIUM SULFATE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Magnesium Sulfate

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

ANHYDROUS MAGNESIUM SULFATE, EPSOM SALT, MAGNESIUM SALT SULFURIC ACID, MAGNESIUM SULFATE, SULFURIC ACID MAGNESIUM SALT (1:1), and SULFURIC ACID, MAGNESIUM SALT

Restricted

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

Magnesium sulfate (Epson salt) is an inorganic salt; found in sea water and in mineral deposits.

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

foundation	550 products
concealer	309 products
bath oil/salts/soak	280 products
daily use with SPF	99 products
recreational sunscreen	62 products
CC cream	55 products
moisturizer	38 products
body wash/cleanser	34 products
BB cream	29 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	27 products
hair styling aide	21 products
bubble bath	19 products
	16 products
serums & essences	15 products
baby sunscreen	13 products
blush	12 products
shampoo	12 products
makeup primer	12 products
bar soap	11 products
exfoliant/scrub	11 products
liquid hand soap	8 products
bronzer/highlighter	8 products
hair treatment/serum	8 products
diaper cream	7 products
conditioner	7 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	7 products
brow liner	7 products
muscle/joint soreness	6 products
hair spray	6 products
around-eye cream	6 products
body firming lotion	5 products
foot cleansing	4 products
lip balm	4 products
lipstick	4 products
mask	4 products
foot moisturizer	4 products
styling gel/lotion	4 products
anti-aging	3 products
facial cleanser	3 products
body oil	2 products
sunless tanning	2 products
setting powder/spray	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
eye liner	1 products
lip balm with SPF	1 products
baby soap	1 products
body spray	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Open scientific literature

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
6395 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	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 bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

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