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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

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
● SODIUM SALT METHYLPARABEN

Restricted

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

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 Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
foundation269 products
moisturizer176 products
eye liner127 products
eye shadow115 products
mascara112 products
concealer107 products
facial moisturizer/treatment86 products
facial powder66 products
brow liner60 products
hair styling aide57 products
conditioner55 products
bronzer/highlighter49 products
blush49 products
shampoo47 products
styling gel/lotion45 products
lip liner41 products
facial cleanser39 products
body firming lotion35 products
hand cream33 products
around-eye cream33 products
lipstick32 products
hair treatment/serum32 products
lip gloss30 products
mask27 products
daily use with SPF27 products
setting powder/spray22 products
anti-aging21 products
serums & essences21 products
hair color and bleaching20 products
recreational sunscreen20 products
sunless tanning19 products
makeup primer15 products
mouthwash15 products
styling mousse/foam11 products
toners/astringents10 products
foot moisturizer9 products
makeup remover9 products
body wash/cleanser8 products
hair spray8 products
after shave7 products
shaving cream7 products
exfoliant/scrub6 products
hand sanitizer6 products
skin fading/lightener5 products
diaper cream5 products
pore strips5 products
hair-loss treatment5 products
BB cream5 products
glitter5 products
baby sunscreen5 products
body cleansing wipes5 products
lip balm4 products
nail treatment4 products
after sun product4 products
liquid hand soap4 products
other eye makeup4 products
damaged skin treatment4 products
toothpaste3 products
bar soap3 products
3 products
beard care3 products
depilatory2 products
fragrance for women2 products
muscle/joint soreness2 products
shaving cream (men's)2 products
foot cleansing2 products
facial cleansing wipes2 products
baby wipes1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
tooth whitening1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
nail polish1 products
baby lotion1 products
oil controller1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
foot odor control1 products
detangler1 products
lip plumper1 products
lip balm with SPF1 products
tanning oil1 products
body powder1 products
eyelash glue1 products
polish remover1 products

Endocrine disruption

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

Biochemical or cellular level changes

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Interferes with gene expresionOpen scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human immune toxicant or allergen - moderate evidenceOpen scientific literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune or allergenic effectsOpen scientific literature

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyOpen scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

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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 productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
616 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment 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.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

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

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