EWG Skin Deep® | What is POLYISOBUTENE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Polyisobutene

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Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER; 1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER(C4H8)X, X = 17; 1-PROPENE, 2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER(C4H8)X, X = 17, 1-PROPENE,-2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER, 1PROPENE, 2METHYL, HOMOPOLYMER, 2-METHYL-1-PROPENE, HOMOPOLYMER, HOMOPOLYMER 1-PROPENE,-2-METHYL-, HOMOPOLYMER 2-METHYL-1-PROPENE, ISOBUTENE HOMOPOLYMER, ISOBUTYLENE HOMOPOLYMER, PERMETHYL 108A, POLYISOBUTENE, and POLYISOBUTYLENE

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Polyisobutene is a synthetic polymer of isobutylene; used as a film-forming agent.

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

lip gloss	188 products
lip balm	125 products
lipstick	115 products
eye shadow	105 products
eye liner	99 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	42 products
bronzer/highlighter	41 products
mask	40 products
lip liner	34 products
brow liner	30 products
mascara	23 products
moisturizer	21 products
serums & essences	19 products
around-eye cream	19 products
daily use with SPF	17 products
lip plumper	14 products
concealer	13 products
blush	13 products
recreational sunscreen	8 products
foundation	8 products
makeup primer	6 products
exfoliant/scrub	5 products
hand cream	5 products
hair treatment/serum	5 products
glitter	5 products
hair styling aide	4 products
facial cleanser	3 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
anti-aging	3 products
shaving cream	3 products
foot cleansing	2 products
baby lotion	2 products
body firming lotion	2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	2 products
	2 products
after shave	1 products
bar soap	1 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
foot odor control	1 products
beard care	1 products
shampoo	1 products
lip balm with SPF	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
styling gel/lotion	1 products
facial powder	1 products
foot moisturizer	1 products
sunless tanning	1 products
hair spray	1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priority	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
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Everything Added to Food

Ecotoxicology

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
194 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

EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.

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