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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Propylene Glycol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (low), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)

SYNONYMS

1,2-DIHYDROXYPROPANE, 1,2-PROPANEDIOL, 2-HYDROXYPROPANOL, METHYLETHYL GLYCOL, PROPANE-1,2-DIOL, and PROPYLENE GLYCOL

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

Propylene glycol is a small organic alcohol commonly used as a skin conditioning agent. It has been associated with irritant and allergic contact dermatitis as well as contact urticaria in humans; these sensitization effects can be manifested at propylene glycol concentrations as low as 2%.

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

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shampoo334 products
conditioner305 products
hair color and bleaching300 products
concealer239 products
foundation237 products
antiperspirant/deodorant229 products
facial moisturizer/treatment218 products
mask217 products
hair treatment/serum191 products
mascara178 products
hair styling aide175 products
moisturizer167 products
serums & essences147 products
body wash/cleanser143 products
hand sanitizer122 products
lip balm116 products
facial cleanser114 products
eye shadow108 products
eye liner106 products
liquid hand soap101 products
recreational sunscreen101 products
styling gel/lotion96 products
sunless tanning95 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)88 products
exfoliant/scrub87 products
body spray77 products
mouthwash76 products
makeup primer71 products
brow liner69 products
bar soap65 products
setting powder/spray64 products
daily use with SPF52 products
around-eye cream51 products
hand cream46 products
fragrance for women44 products
toners/astringents43 products
hair spray42 products
styling mousse/foam41 products
toothpaste40 products
body firming lotion35 products
hair-loss treatment33 products
lip gloss32 products
BB cream31 products
after shave29 products
polish remover29 products
eyelash glue29 products
shaving cream28 products
baby wipes27 products
makeup remover26 products
fragrance for men25 products
anti-aging23 products
blush22 products
baby sunscreen21 products
CC cream19 products
foot moisturizer18 products
nail treatment15 products
detangler15 products
bronzer/highlighter14 products
after sun product12 products
glitter11 products
skin fading/lightener10 products
lipstick10 products
foot cleansing10 products
bubble bath9 products
tooth whitening9 products
bath oil/salts/soak9 products
muscle/joint soreness9 products
baby lotion8 products
body oil8 products
nail polish8 products
8 products
shaving cream (men's)7 products
hair relaxer7 products
baby toothpaste6 products
lip balm with SPF6 products
pore strips6 products
beard care6 products
body cleansing wipes5 products
damaged skin treatment4 products
depilatory3 products
foot odor control3 products
other eye makeup3 products
facial cleansing wipes3 products
cuticle treatment2 products
eye makeup remover2 products
baby oil2 products
tanning oil1 products
diaper cream1 products
baby soap1 products
baby shampoo1 products
body powder1 products
beard cleanser1 products
other men's products1 products
makeup removing wipes1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Penetration enhancerCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as skin irritantNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of skin and immune system 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

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemicalCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
5589 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not likely to be a any toxicant in humansNTP - Risks to Human Reproduction

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Determined safe for use in cosmetics up to a specified concentration limitCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
  • 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). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • 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). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • NTP (National Toxicology Program). 2006. NTP Center for the Evaluation fo Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR). NTP-CERHR Reports and Monographs.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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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