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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Peg 8

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

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Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

● OCTAETHYLENE GLYCOL
● PEG-8
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 400

Restricted

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

The term "PEG" (polyethylene glycol) is used for synthetic polymers of ethylene oxide; these polymers may be contamated with potentially toxic manufacturing 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

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bath oil/salts/soak135 products
toothpaste59 products
tooth whitening42 products
facial moisturizer/treatment36 products
recreational sunscreen31 products
serums & essences26 products
mask26 products
antiperspirant/deodorant25 products
concealer21 products
facial cleanser21 products
around-eye cream19 products
foundation19 products
hair color and bleaching19 products
eye liner17 products
body wash/cleanser17 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)16 products
lip balm with SPF14 products
moisturizer14 products
baby sunscreen12 products
conditioner12 products
exfoliant/scrub10 products
hair styling aide10 products
setting powder/spray8 products
blush6 products
shampoo6 products
hair treatment/serum6 products
makeup primer4 products
facial powder4 products
hand cream4 products
foot moisturizer3 products
daily use with SPF3 products
toners/astringents3 products
liquid hand soap3 products
lipstick3 products
BB cream2 products
lip balm2 products
anti-aging2 products
hand sanitizer2 products
styling gel/lotion2 products
bronzer/highlighter2 products
baby lotion2 products
bar soap2 products
shaving cream2 products
sunless tanning1 products
baby toothpaste1 products
tanning oil1 products
after sun product1 products
makeup remover1 products
foot odor control1 products
hair spray1 products
shaving cream (men's)1 products
mascara1 products
nail treatment1 products
body oil1 products
styling mousse/foam1 products
after shave1 products

Contamination concerns

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Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information

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
762 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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • 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.

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.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

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September 23, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

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