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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Palmitic Acid

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)

SYNONYMS

● CETYLIC ACID
● HEXADECANOIC ACID
● N-HEXADECANOIC ACID
● PALMITIC ACID

Restricted

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

Palmitic acid is a naturally occurring fatty 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

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mascara245 products
facial moisturizer/treatment158 products
body wash/cleanser130 products
hair color and bleaching109 products
moisturizer106 products
lipstick78 products
foundation78 products
shaving cream77 products
facial cleanser71 products
around-eye cream48 products
mask40 products
hand cream39 products
brow liner39 products
eye shadow38 products
concealer35 products
shaving cream (men's)35 products
blush32 products
daily use with SPF32 products
liquid hand soap23 products
makeup primer21 products
lip gloss20 products
serums & essences19 products
exfoliant/scrub19 products
bar soap16 products
anti-aging15 products
eye liner14 products
BB cream13 products
hair treatment/serum12 products
body firming lotion12 products
hair styling aide10 products
recreational sunscreen10 products
antiperspirant/deodorant9 products
lip balm9 products
conditioner8 products
sunless tanning8 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)7 products
lip plumper6 products
6 products
hand sanitizer6 products
lip liner6 products
CC cream5 products
shampoo4 products
after sun product3 products
toners/astringents3 products
bath oil/salts/soak3 products
skin fading/lightener3 products
lip balm with SPF3 products
baby lotion3 products
bubble bath2 products
after shave2 products
foot moisturizer2 products
nail glue2 products
foot cleansing1 products
beard care1 products
detangler1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
other eye makeup1 products
styling gel/lotion1 products
cuticle treatment1 products

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information availableOpen scientific literature
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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
8776 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

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

Cancer

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

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
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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
  • 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.

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.

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