EWG Skin Deep® | What is PHENONIP

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Data: Limited

Phenonip

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), Ecotoxicology (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high), Occupational hazards (high), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (moderate)

SYNONYMS

PHENONIP

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

According to website information provided by Clariant, the manufacturer of phenonip, this ingredient is a mix of preservatives phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, and isobutylparaben. Parabens mimic estrogen, are potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors, and were found in the breast cancer tumors of 19 of 20 women studied (Darbre 2004). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tested urine from a group of 2,548 Americans over the age of 6 and found parabens in over 99% of samples (Calafat 2010). Propylparaben and butylparaben have been classified as potential human endocrine system disruptors by the European Commission on Endocrine Disruption (EU 2007).

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
MODERATE

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as irritant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Japan - restricted for use in cosmetics (concentration limit)	Japan's Standards for Cosmetics
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Biochemical or cellular level changes

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Interferes with gene expresion	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show any effects at very low doses	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any effects at low doses	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of developmental toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as toxic or harmful	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
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

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show endocrine disruption at moderate doses	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show endocrine disruption at high doses	Open scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	Open scientific literature
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemical	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
3 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Informational

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

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

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.
EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. 2006. Standards for Cosmetics. Evaluation and Licensing Division. Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
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.
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