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Data: Fair

Polymethyl Methacrylate

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.

Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate) and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● 2-PROPENOIC ACID, 2-METHYL-, METHYL ESTER, HOMOPOLYMER
● HOMOPOLYMER 2-PROPENOIC ACID, 2-METHYL-, METHYL ESTER
● METHYL ESTER HOMOPOLYMER 2-PROPENOIC ACID, 2-METHYL-
● POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE
● POLYMETHYLMETHACRYLATE

Restricted

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


Polymethyl methacyrlate is a synthetic polymer.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
foundation158 products
nail glue132 products
lipstick74 products
bronzer/highlighter59 products
blush53 products
concealer43 products
eye shadow30 products
eye liner26 products
glitter23 products
facial powder22 products
facial moisturizer/treatment19 products
setting powder/spray18 products
around-eye cream17 products
daily use with SPF15 products
makeup primer13 products
nail polish12 products
recreational sunscreen11 products
brow liner9 products
lip liner9 products
lip gloss8 products
moisturizer5 products
hair color and bleaching5 products
serums & essences5 products
3 products
anti-aging3 products
other eye makeup3 products
hair styling aide2 products
BB cream2 products
mascara2 products
fragrance for women2 products
exfoliant/scrub1 products
eyelash glue1 products
lip balm1 products
CC cream1 products
foot moisturizer1 products
body firming lotion1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of any toxicity or allergiesOpen scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Single case study detailing occupational hazardsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

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
8964 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

Ecotoxicology

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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humansOpen scientific literature
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • 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.
  • IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).

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

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

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