EWG Skin Deep® | What is PLACENTAL EXTRACT

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Placental Extract

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Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

● PLACENTAL EXTRACT

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

This ingredient is derived from the placenta, an organ that develops in female mammals during pregnancy, lining the uterine wall and attached by the umbilical cord to provide nourishment and oxygen to the fetus. The placenta produces progesterone, estrogen, and other hormones, which raise potential health concerns in personal care products. In one study four girls between one and eight years of age developed breasts or pubic hair two to 24 months after starting the use of estrogen- or placenta-containing hair products. Their breasts and public hair regressed when they stopped using the products. No other cause for early sexual development was found. <a href='http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/references.php'>(Tiwary 1998)</a>.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
PROGESTERONE
ESTROGEN
ESTRONE

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics	Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Potential risk of infectious disease - Must be free of detectable pathogenic viruses or infectious agents	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Potential risk of infectious disease - any	FDA Ingredients with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Concern

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature
endocrine - weight of evidence unknown/unassessed/unreview: published lit review or major tox study	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Insufficient data to determine safety	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
223 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 - endocrine	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2000. FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Cosmetics Compliance Program. Domestic Cosmetics Program. Coverage of Bovine-Derived Ingredients for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). Issued July 31, 2000.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

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