Methylparaben
- †Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
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 METHYLPARABENMethylparaben 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.
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LOWCancer
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MODERATEAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
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LOWUse 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 |
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Interferes with gene expresion | Open scientific literature |
Allergies/immunotoxicity
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 SCORESHazard 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.