EWG Skin Deep® | What is PHOSPHOLIPIDS

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Phospholipids

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

PHOSPHOLIPIDS

Restricted

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

Phospholipids are naturally occurring complex lipids which contain glycerol, two fatty acids and a phosphate group. Phospholipids are the primary constituents of cell membranes.

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

facial moisturizer/treatment	75 products
foundation	42 products
serums & essences	34 products
moisturizer	28 products
daily use with SPF	22 products
around-eye cream	19 products
conditioner	18 products
lipstick	18 products
shampoo	17 products
facial cleanser	17 products
mask	13 products
lip gloss	10 products
exfoliant/scrub	9 products
facial powder	9 products
hair treatment/serum	8 products
toners/astringents	8 products
lip liner	6 products
body firming lotion	5 products
anti-aging	5 products
lip balm	5 products
recreational sunscreen	5 products
makeup primer	4 products
hair styling aide	4 products
fragrance for men	4 products
body wash/cleanser	3 products
mascara	3 products
liquid hand soap	2 products
makeup remover	2 products
setting powder/spray	2 products
sunless tanning	2 products
bronzer/highlighter	2 products
hair-loss treatment	1 products
detangler	1 products
lip balm with SPF	1 products
hand cream	1 products
after shave	1 products
beard care	1 products
concealer	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
beard cleanser	1 products
foot moisturizer	1 products
CC cream	1 products
body oil	1 products

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
74449 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	Open scientific literature

NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature

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