EWG Skin Deep® | What is PROPYLPARABEN

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Data: Fair

Propylparaben

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (moderate), Endocrine disruption (high), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

4-HYDROXY- PROPYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, PROPYL ESTER, 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, PROPYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, PROPYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, PROPYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, PROPYL ESTER, BENZOIC ACID, 4HYDROXY, PROPYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT, POLYPARABEN, POTASSIUM PROPYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT PROPYLPARABEN, PROPYL 4-HYDROXYBENZOATE, PROPYL ESTER 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, PROPYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, PROPYL ESTER SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, PROPYL ESTER SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, PROPYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE, PROPYL P-HYDROXYBENZOATE SODIUM SALT, PROPYL PARABEN, PROPYL PARAHYDROXYBENZOATE, PROPYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, POTASSIUM SALT, PROPYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT, SODIUM 4-PROPOXYCARBONYLPHENOXIDE, SODIUM PROPYLPARABEN, SODIUM SALT 4-HYDROXYBENZOIC ACID, PROPYL ESTER, SODIUM SALT BENZOIC ACID, 4-HYDROXY-, PROPYL ESTER, and SODIUM SALT PROPYLPARABEN

Restricted

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

Propylparaben is in the paraben family of preservatives used by the food, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. Parabens mimic estrogen and can act as potential hormone (endocrine) system disruptors.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
MODERATE

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
MODERATE

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	161 products
moisturizer	96 products
eye liner	94 products
eye shadow	86 products
concealer	85 products
mascara	81 products
brow liner	80 products
lipstick	80 products
lip gloss	65 products
lip liner	60 products
facial powder	54 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	51 products
blush	45 products
bronzer/highlighter	44 products
conditioner	34 products
facial cleanser	31 products
daily use with SPF	27 products
hair styling aide	27 products
hair treatment/serum	23 products
setting powder/spray	22 products
body firming lotion	20 products
styling gel/lotion	18 products
makeup primer	18 products
anti-aging	16 products
recreational sunscreen	16 products
mask	14 products
hand cream	13 products
mouthwash	13 products
lip balm	12 products
shampoo	8 products
sunless tanning	7 products
foot moisturizer	7 products
around-eye cream	7 products
toners/astringents	7 products
after shave	6 products
shaving cream	6 products
lip balm with SPF	6 products
exfoliant/scrub	5 products
skin fading/lightener	5 products
makeup remover	5 products
hair-loss treatment	5 products
baby sunscreen	5 products
after sun product	4 products
styling mousse/foam	4 products
damaged skin treatment	4 products
body wash/cleanser	3 products
hair spray	3 products
diaper cream	3 products
hand sanitizer	3 products
glitter	3 products
toothpaste	2 products
muscle/joint soreness	2 products
detangler	2 products
nail treatment	2 products
cuticle treatment	2 products
liquid hand soap	2 products
serums & essences	2 products
BB cream	2 products
	2 products
beard care	2 products
eye makeup remover	1 products
tooth whitening	1 products
bath oil/salts/soak	1 products
hair removal waxes	1 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products
baby lotion	1 products
oil controller	1 products
lip plumper	1 products
foot odor control	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products
other eye makeup	1 products
bar soap	1 products
body powder	1 products
polish remover	1 products

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any disruptor	Open scientific literature
Human endocrine disruptor - strong evidence	European Commission on Endocrine Disruption
One or more studies show significant wildlife and the environment disruption	European Commission on Endocrine Disruption
Limited evidence of endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of any disruption	Open scientific literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
One or more studies show weak endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human immune toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Open scientific literature
Human immune toxicant or allergen - moderate evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more human case studies show possible immune or allergenic effects	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Possible human reproductive or developmental toxin	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any effects at low doses	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Open scientific literature
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	Open scientific literature
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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 product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
903 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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
EU (European Union)- Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters 2007. Commision on endocrin disruption requested by the European Parliament in 1998.
EWG Assessment of Open Scientific Literature
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
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.
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.

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