EWG Skin Deep® | What is PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Peg 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil

Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, ETHOXYLATED

● PEG-40 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL

● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 2000 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL

● POLYOXYETHYLENE (40) HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL

Restricted

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

PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil is a polyethylene glycol derivative of castor oil; may be contaminated with potentially toxic impurities such as 1,4-dioxane.

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

hair styling aide	164 products
styling gel/lotion	86 products
hair treatment/serum	84 products
serums & essences	83 products
mask	80 products
body wash/cleanser	72 products
brow liner	72 products
shampoo	68 products
eye liner	64 products
toners/astringents	61 products
body spray	58 products
liquid hand soap	56 products
facial cleanser	50 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	45 products
setting powder/spray	45 products
sunless tanning	44 products
conditioner	42 products
exfoliant/scrub	37 products
baby wipes	37 products
styling mousse/foam	31 products
hair color and bleaching	29 products
makeup primer	27 products
lip gloss	24 products
fragrance for women	20 products
makeup remover	20 products
hand sanitizer	20 products
hair spray	19 products
detangler	18 products
moisturizer	18 products
mascara	14 products
mouthwash	13 products
eye shadow	11 products
after shave	10 products
concealer	10 products
bubble bath	7 products
recreational sunscreen	7 products
eyelash glue	7 products
around-eye cream	6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	5 products
glitter	5 products
foot moisturizer	4 products
fragrance for men	4 products
foot cleansing	4 products
hair-loss treatment	3 products
	3 products
beard care	3 products
anti-aging	2 products
shaving cream (men's)	2 products
tooth whitening	2 products
other eye makeup	2 products
after sun product	2 products
daily use with SPF	2 products
baby soap	2 products
lipstick	2 products
beard cleanser	2 products
blush	2 products
body cleansing wipes	2 products
baby sunscreen	2 products
foot odor control	1 products
body firming lotion	1 products
lip balm	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
hand cream	1 products
depilatory	1 products
facial powder	1 products
baby shampoo	1 products
baby oil	1 products
bronzer/highlighter	1 products
toothpaste	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
makeup removing wipes	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	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
144 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
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.
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.

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