EWG Skin Deep® | What is MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption and Use restrictions (low)

SYNONYMS

MENTHA (MINT) ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA (MINT) LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA (MINT) OIL, MENTHA ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) LEAF OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA (PEPPERMINT) OIL EXTRACT, MENTHA PIPERITA AMERICAN HERB OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA LEAF OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA OIL, MENTHA PIPERITA OIL EXTRACT, MINT ESSENTIAL OIL, MINT LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, OIL OF PEPPERMINT, OILS, PEPPERMINT, PEPPERMINT ESSENTIAL OIL, PEPPERMINT LEAF ESSENTIAL OIL, PEPPERMINT LEAF OIL, PEPPERMINT OIL, PEPPERMINT OIL EXTRACT, PEPPERMINT OIL; PEPPERMINT OIL; PEPPERMINT TERPENES, and WILD PEPPERMINT OIL

Peppermint oil is a volatile oil obtained from the plant Mentha piperita.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
HIGH

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

shampoo	141 products
lip balm	128 products
conditioner	117 products
lip gloss	105 products
toothpaste	87 products
exfoliant/scrub	75 products
lipstick	66 products
hair treatment/serum	62 products
body wash/cleanser	62 products
bar soap	56 products
moisturizer	55 products
facial cleanser	53 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	44 products
mask	42 products
mouthwash	39 products
foot moisturizer	39 products
tooth whitening	29 products
bath oil/salts/soak	26 products
liquid hand soap	22 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	22 products
body oil	18 products
lip plumper	17 products
shaving cream	17 products
foot cleansing	16 products
muscle/joint soreness	15 products
hand sanitizer	15 products
serums & essences	13 products
toners/astringents	13 products
foot odor control	13 products
hair styling aide	12 products
beard oil	12 products
bubble bath	11 products
hand cream	11 products
hair-loss treatment	11 products
styling gel/lotion	11 products
recreational sunscreen	9 products
shaving cream (men's)	7 products
beard care	7 products
after shave	6 products
after sun product	5 products
damaged skin treatment	5 products
body powder	5 products
sunless tanning	4 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	4 products
lip balm with SPF	4 products
body firming lotion	4 products
beard cleanser	3 products
oil controller	3 products
body spray	3 products
makeup primer	3 products
daily use with SPF	3 products
baby shampoo	2 products
fragrance for men	2 products
baby bubble bath	2 products
vapor rubs	2 products
	1 products
baby wipes	1 products
baby lotion	1 products
cuticle treatment	1 products
around-eye cream	1 products
baby soap	1 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products
detangler	1 products
nail treatment	1 products
hair spray	1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Penetration enhancer	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Risk assessment method deficiencies and data gaps - Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
821 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 persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

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.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.

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