EWG Skin Deep® | What is P-AMINOPHENOL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

P Aminophenol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Ecotoxicology (low), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● 4-AMINO- PHENOL

● 4-AMINO-1-HYDROXYBENZENE

● 4-AMINOPHENOL

● 4-HYDROXYANILINE

● 4-HYDROXYBENZENAMINE

● 4-HYDROXYPHENYLAMINE

● CI 76550

● P-AMINO- PHENOL

● P-AMINOPHENOL

● PHENOL, 4-AMINO-

● PHENOL, 4AMINO

● PHENOL, P-AMINO-

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

p-aminophenol is a synthetic dye used in hair coloring; produced from coal tar.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

hair color and bleaching	103 products
shampoo	4 products
conditioner	2 products
hair treatment/serum	1 products

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of occupational hazards	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as a high human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as toxic or harmful	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of cardiovascular or blood toxicity	National Library of Medicine HazMap
Limited evidence of kidney toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Cancer - limited evidence	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
Cancer - limited evidence	CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook
Mutagen - limited evidence	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Insufficient data to determine safety	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
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
1215 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

Informational

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

CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

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