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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

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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shampoo280 products
hair color and bleaching265 products
conditioner263 products
antiperspirant/deodorant218 products
concealer218 products
foundation200 products
mask199 products
facial moisturizer/treatment186 products
moisturizer170 products
hair treatment/serum167 products
hair styling aide165 products
body wash/cleanser160 products
lip balm154 products
mascara147 products
serums & essences127 products
hand sanitizer120 products
facial cleanser118 products
liquid hand soap109 products
styling gel/lotion107 products
recreational sunscreen105 products
sunless tanning97 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)89 products
exfoliant/scrub85 products
body spray82 products
mouthwash76 products
eye liner75 products
bar soap73 products
eye shadow70 products
makeup primer66 products
daily use with SPF63 products
brow liner61 products
setting powder/spray58 products
fragrance for women49 products
eyelash glue47 products
hair spray39 products
BB cream36 products
toners/astringents35 products
body firming lotion35 products
lip gloss34 products
hand cream34 products
makeup remover33 products
styling mousse/foam32 products
hair-loss treatment32 products
shaving cream30 products
around-eye cream28 products
fragrance for men25 products
foot moisturizer24 products
toothpaste24 products
baby wipes24 products
detangler24 products
polish remover24 products
baby sunscreen21 products
anti-aging20 products
CC cream18 products
after shave17 products
after sun product17 products
blush17 products
bronzer/highlighter15 products
nail treatment14 products
glitter14 products
bubble bath10 products
skin fading/lightener10 products
foot cleansing10 products
hair relaxer10 products
bath oil/salts/soak9 products
muscle/joint soreness9 products
tooth whitening8 products
lipstick8 products
body oil8 products
nail polish8 products
8 products
baby lotion7 products
lip balm with SPF6 products
pore strips6 products
beard care5 products
shaving cream (men's)4 products
baby toothpaste4 products
damaged skin treatment4 products
foot odor control3 products
eye makeup remover3 products
other eye makeup2 products
baby oil2 products
depilatory1 products
lip plumper1 products
diaper cream1 products
baby soap1 products
baby shampoo1 products
nail glue1 products
beard cleanser1 products
other men's products1 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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