EWG Skin Deep® | What is RETINYL PALMITATE (VITAMIN A PALMITATE)

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Data: Fair

Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate)

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (high)

SYNONYMS

● AXEROPHTHOL PALMITATE

● HEXADECANOATE RETINOL

● RETINOL PALMITATE

● RETINOL, HEXADECANOATE

● RETINYL PALMITATE

● RETINYL PALMITATE (VITAMIN A PALMITATE)

● VITAMIN A PALMITATE

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Retinyl palmitate is an ingredient composed of palmitic acid and retinol (Vitamin A). Data from an FDA study indicate that retinyl palmitate, when applied to the skin in the presence of sunlight, may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions. FDA, Norwegian and German health agencies have raised a concern that daily skin application of vitamin A creams may contribute to excessive vitamin A intake for pregnant women and other populations.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

MODERATE

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
HIGH

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	167 products
lipstick	160 products
moisturizer	159 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	108 products
exfoliant/scrub	71 products
concealer	67 products
serums & essences	58 products
shampoo	52 products
lip gloss	50 products
conditioner	48 products
hair treatment/serum	47 products
facial cleanser	41 products
mask	33 products
around-eye cream	30 products
daily use with SPF	29 products
body wash/cleanser	29 products
hand cream	23 products
recreational sunscreen	23 products
makeup primer	19 products
facial powder	18 products
lip plumper	18 products
BB cream	17 products
body firming lotion	16 products
	15 products
anti-aging	14 products
bronzer/highlighter	12 products
setting powder/spray	12 products
hair styling aide	12 products
eye shadow	10 products
blush	10 products
nail treatment	9 products
toners/astringents	8 products
lip balm	8 products
mascara	6 products
styling gel/lotion	6 products
after sun product	5 products
body oil	5 products
toothpaste	5 products
baby lotion	5 products
hair color and bleaching	4 products
hair spray	4 products
nail polish	4 products
after shave	4 products
brow liner	4 products
skin fading/lightener	3 products
diaper cream	3 products
sunless tanning	3 products
liquid hand soap	3 products
bath oil/salts/soak	3 products
muscle/joint soreness	3 products
shaving cream	3 products
shaving cream (men's)	3 products
detangler	3 products
bar soap	3 products
baby soap	3 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	2 products
foot moisturizer	2 products
polish remover	2 products
tanning oil	2 products
hair-loss treatment	2 products
baby sunscreen	2 products
lip balm with SPF	2 products
baby shampoo	2 products
beard cleanser	2 products
eye liner	1 products
lip liner	1 products
hand sanitizer	1 products
tooth whitening	1 products
cuticle treatment	1 products
bubble bath	1 products
body spray	1 products
baby oil	1 products
other eye makeup	1 products
body powder	1 products
foot cleansing	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	1 products
pore strips	1 products
facial cleansing wipes	1 products

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics	Open scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmetics	Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients

Biochemical or cellular level changes

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human reproductive toxicant	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of reproductive toxicity	Open scientific literature
One or more animal studies show reproductive effects at low doses	Open scientific literature

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Absorbs into the skin	Open scientific literature

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show tumor formation at very low doses	Open scientific literature
Cancer - limited evidence	Open scientific literature
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results	Open scientific literature
One or more in vitro tests non-mammalian cells show positive mutation results	Open scientific literature

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of skin toxicity	Open scientific literature
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	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
1692 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

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

Informational

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

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