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Data: Good

Silver

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around the eyes due to increased risk of absorption.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)

SYNONYMS

● AG
● CI 77820
● SILVER
● SILVER, DISSOLVED
● SILVER, TOTAL

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient


Silver is a metallic element.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • HIGH
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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nail polish19 products
mask9 products
lip gloss3 products
body spray3 products
lip balm3 products
toners/astringents2 products
facial moisturizer/treatment2 products
hand cream2 products
eye liner2 products
hand sanitizer1 products
mouthwash1 products
bar soap1 products
toothpaste1 products
bronzer/highlighter1 products
shaving cream1 products
exfoliant/scrub1 products
beard oil1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skinNanomaterial Database

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to very low dosesNational Library of Medicine HazMap
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low dosesNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Color additive not approved by FDA for cosmetics used around eyesFDA Color Additive Status
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Use is restricted in Canadian cosmeticsCanada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlifeCanada PBTs - Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET)
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as medium human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityEPA Clean Water Act - Priority Pollutants
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Insufficient data to determine safetyEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
118987 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color Additives - Exempt from Batch Certification by the U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationCTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmeticsFDA Color Additive Status

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gapsEPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)
  • NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additive Status List. September 2006.
  • Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 1994. Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET). ARET substance list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
  • EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2008. Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Evidence for human carcinogenicity based on 1986-2005 guidelines.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.

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

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

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