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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Polysorbate 80

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

● MONO-9-OCTADECENOATE POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS. SORBITAN
● POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS. SORBITAN, MONO-9-OCTADECENOATE
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (20) SORBITAN MONOOLEATE
● POLYSORBATE 80
● POLYSORBATE-80
● SORBIMACROGOL OLEATE 300
● SORBITAN, MONO-(9Z)-9-OCTADECENOATE, POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS.
● SORBITAN, MONO-9-OCTADECENOATE, (Z)-POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS.
● SORBITAN, MONO-9-OCTADECENOATE, POLY(OXY-1,2-ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS.
● SORBITAN, MONO9OCTADECENOATE, POLY(OXY1,2ETHANEDIYL) DERIVS., (Z)

Restricted

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

Polysorbate 80 is a surfactant and emulsifier used in cleaners and personal care products.

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

Expand content Collapse content
facial moisturizer/treatment91 products
mask73 products
moisturizer56 products
foundation55 products
bath oil/salts/soak54 products
toothpaste45 products
serums & essences44 products
around-eye cream37 products
hair color and bleaching35 products
hand cream35 products
facial cleanser31 products
bronzer/highlighter25 products
makeup primer23 products
hair treatment/serum22 products
conditioner22 products
mouthwash21 products
brow liner20 products
eye shadow20 products
body wash/cleanser18 products
hair styling aide18 products
daily use with SPF17 products
exfoliant/scrub17 products
shampoo16 products
eye liner15 products
mascara13 products
blush13 products
toners/astringents13 products
hair spray11 products
concealer11 products
10 products
sunless tanning10 products
BB cream9 products
styling gel/lotion9 products
anti-aging9 products
after shave7 products
nail treatment7 products
styling mousse/foam7 products
makeup remover7 products
recreational sunscreen6 products
lip balm with SPF6 products
liquid hand soap5 products
after sun product4 products
hair-loss treatment4 products
body firming lotion4 products
foot moisturizer4 products
beard care3 products
tooth whitening3 products
setting powder/spray3 products
foot cleansing2 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
facial powder2 products
baby shampoo2 products
foot odor control2 products
body spray2 products
bar soap2 products
detangler2 products
lip balm2 products
nail polish1 products
lip liner1 products
baby sunscreen1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
tanning oil1 products
eyelash glue1 products
baby oil1 products
baby soap1 products

Contamination concerns

Expand content Collapse content
Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - anyOpen scientific literature

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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

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
122419 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Informational

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • 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.

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
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

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
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

Can’t find your product?

Enter the ingredients in EWG’s Build Your Own Report tool to get an approximate score for that product.

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September 23, 2023 | Los Angeles, CA

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