EWG Skin Deep® | What is POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Polymethylsilsesquioxane

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● POLYMETHYLSILSESQUIOXANE

Restricted

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

Polymethylsilsesquioxane is a polymer formed by the hydrolysis and condensation ofmethyltrimethoxysilane.

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

foundation	275 products
eye shadow	194 products
lipstick	178 products
concealer	111 products
blush	66 products
eye liner	58 products
bronzer/highlighter	56 products
daily use with SPF	56 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	50 products
makeup primer	45 products
recreational sunscreen	43 products
moisturizer	28 products
around-eye cream	26 products
serums & essences	23 products
setting powder/spray	23 products
brow liner	16 products
facial powder	16 products
CC cream	14 products
	14 products
shampoo	14 products
BB cream	13 products
lip gloss	13 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	11 products
mascara	8 products
hair color and bleaching	6 products
nail treatment	6 products
anti-aging	6 products
hand cream	5 products
mask	5 products
lip plumper	5 products
glitter	5 products
hair spray	5 products
baby sunscreen	5 products
other eye makeup	3 products
hair styling aide	3 products
toners/astringents	3 products
body firming lotion	3 products
nail polish	3 products
muscle/joint soreness	2 products
after sun product	2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	2 products
hair treatment/serum	2 products
lip balm	1 products
body powder	1 products
body art	1 products
other men's products	1 products
exfoliant/scrub	1 products
body spray	1 products
skin fading/lightener	1 products
conditioner	1 products
facial cleanser	1 products
after shave	1 products

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
29 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

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