EWG Skin Deep® | What is METHYLPARABEN

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Methylparaben

^†Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

FIND PRODUCTS WITH THIS INGREDIENT

Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Endocrine disruption (moderate), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (moderate)

SYNONYMS

4-HYDROXY- METHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, METHYL ESTER, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, METHYL ESTER, POTASSIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER, POTASSIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, METHYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, METHYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, METHYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE, METHYL ESTER 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, METHYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER POTASSIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, METHYL ESTER POTASSIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE, METHYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE POTASSIUM SALT, METHYL PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE, METHYLPARABE, METHYLPARABEN, METHYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT, METHYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT, P-CARBOMRYHOXYPHENOL, P-METHOXYCARBONYLPHENOL, POTASSIUM METHYL 4-OXIDOBENZOATE, POTASSIUM METHYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, METHYL ESTER, POTASSIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER, POTASSIUM SALT METHYLPARABEN, SODIUM 4-(METHOXYCARBONYL)PHENOLATE, SODIUM 4-CARBOMETHOXYPHENOLATE, SODIUM METHYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE, SODIUM METHYLPARABEN, SODIUM P-METHOXYCARBONYLPHENOXIDE, SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, METHYL ESTER, and SODIUM SALT METHYLPARABEN

Methylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	269 products
moisturizer	244 products
mascara	117 products
eye shadow	106 products
concealer	101 products
eye liner	100 products
lipstick	82 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	80 products
brow liner	71 products
facial powder	69 products
hair styling aide	68 products
styling gel/lotion	63 products
conditioner	62 products
facial cleanser	59 products
bronzer/highlighter	55 products
daily use with SPF	48 products
blush	46 products
mask	43 products
body firming lotion	38 products
lip liner	36 products
hair color and bleaching	35 products
sunless tanning	34 products
lip gloss	32 products
hair treatment/serum	28 products
shampoo	27 products
anti-aging	27 products
hand cream	25 products
around-eye cream	24 products
exfoliant/scrub	21 products
recreational sunscreen	20 products
serums & essences	19 products
mouthwash	18 products
foot moisturizer	16 products
setting powder/spray	16 products
styling mousse/foam	14 products
lip balm	12 products
makeup remover	12 products
toners/astringents	12 products
shaving cream	12 products
body wash/cleanser	11 products
after sun product	11 products
makeup primer	10 products
nail polish	9 products
hair spray	7 products
skin fading/lightener	7 products
pore strips	7 products
BB cream	6 products
damaged skin treatment	6 products
diaper cream	5 products
hand sanitizer	5 products
glitter	5 products
baby sunscreen	5 products
	5 products
eye makeup remover	4 products
after shave	4 products
baby lotion	4 products
detangler	4 products
hair-loss treatment	4 products
nail treatment	3 products
muscle/joint soreness	3 products
toothpaste	2 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
foot odor control	2 products
lip balm with SPF	2 products
shaving cream (men's)	2 products
liquid hand soap	2 products
foot cleansing	2 products
bar soap	2 products
hair relaxer	2 products
beard care	2 products
tooth whitening	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
hair removal waxes	1 products
fragrance for women	1 products
oil controller	1 products
lip plumper	1 products
body powder	1 products
other eye makeup	1 products
bubble bath	1 products
polish remover	1 products
body art	1 products

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidence	European Commission on Endocrine Disruption
Limited evidence of endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature

Biochemical or cellular level changes

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Interferes with gene expresion	Open scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human immune toxicant or allergen - moderate evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune or allergenic effects	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	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
616 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

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

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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

EU (European Union)- Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters 2007. Commision on endocrin disruption requested by the European Parliament in 1998.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
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) 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.

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