EWG Skin Deep® | What is MYRISTIC ACID

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Myristic Acid

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)

SYNONYMS

MYRISTIC ACID, N-TETRADECANOIC ACID, and TETRADECANOIC ACID

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Myristic Acid is an organic acid.

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

facial cleanser	72 products
mascara	57 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	34 products
body wash/cleanser	33 products
foundation	28 products
exfoliant/scrub	16 products
shaving cream	15 products
daily use with SPF	15 products
mask	14 products
around-eye cream	12 products
bubble bath	9 products
moisturizer	8 products
recreational sunscreen	7 products
shampoo	7 products
shaving cream (men's)	7 products
liquid hand soap	6 products
bar soap	6 products
eye liner	6 products
makeup remover	5 products
anti-aging	5 products
lipstick	5 products
blush	5 products
hair styling aide	5 products
hand cream	4 products
body firming lotion	3 products
makeup primer	3 products
baby shampoo	3 products
brow liner	3 products
	3 products
foot moisturizer	2 products
serums & essences	2 products
eye shadow	2 products
baby sunscreen	2 products
concealer	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products
baby bubble bath	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
conditioner	1 products
after shave	1 products

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information available	Open scientific literature
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

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

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
Safety assessment was based on related chemical	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
2442 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humans	EPA Water Disinfection By-Products Carcinogenicity

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

Informational

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
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.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2006. EPA Water Disinfection By-Products with Carcinogenicity Estimates. Last updated: 10 April 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