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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Sodium Hydroxide

  • †Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
  • †This ingredient’s score is lower when used as a saponification agent (e.g., soaps and cleansers)

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

CAUSTIC SODA, CAUSTIC SODA; SODIUM HYDROXIDE; SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SODIUM HYDRATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE (NA(OH)), and SODIUM HYDROXIDE SOLUTION

Sodium Hydroxide is a highly caustic and reactive inorganic base.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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moisturizer510 products
facial moisturizer/treatment388 products
shampoo359 products
body wash/cleanser312 products
bar soap306 products
facial cleanser268 products
conditioner204 products
mask198 products
serums & essences189 products
exfoliant/scrub154 products
hand cream132 products
liquid hand soap108 products
foundation106 products
daily use with SPF99 products
hair treatment/serum98 products
toothpaste97 products
recreational sunscreen91 products
around-eye cream85 products
toners/astringents83 products
hair color and bleaching72 products
mascara58 products
baby lotion53 products
body firming lotion52 products
eye shadow50 products
tooth whitening48 products
hair styling aide47 products
makeup remover46 products
makeup primer42 products
styling gel/lotion39 products
eye liner37 products
shaving cream33 products
baby shampoo28 products
foot moisturizer27 products
bubble bath26 products
anti-aging22 products
after sun product22 products
shaving cream (men's)21 products
after shave19 products
BB cream19 products
baby soap18 products
hand sanitizer18 products
brow liner18 products
antiperspirant/deodorant17 products
bronzer/highlighter17 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)15 products
setting powder/spray15 products
concealer14 products
body spray14 products
bath oil/salts/soak13 products
sunless tanning12 products
hair spray11 products
blush11 products
11 products
damaged skin treatment10 products
mouthwash9 products
skin fading/lightener9 products
styling mousse/foam8 products
detangler8 products
depilatory7 products
baby wipes7 products
oil controller7 products
beard care7 products
foot cleansing6 products
eye makeup remover6 products
lipstick6 products
hair-loss treatment6 products
baby sunscreen6 products
foot odor control5 products
baby oil4 products
body oil4 products
cuticle treatment3 products
nail treatment3 products
muscle/joint soreness3 products
hair relaxer3 products
other eye makeup3 products
fragrance for women2 products
glitter2 products
fragrance for men2 products
depilatory (men's)1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
lip balm1 products
lip plumper1 products
hair removal waxes1 products
lip gloss1 products
tanning oil1 products
beard cleanser1 products
body art1 products
baby toothpaste1 products
pore strips1 products

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of industry recommendations - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Avoid or minimize skin exposure: recommendation from industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR)Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

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

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Single case study detailing occupational hazardsNational Library of Medicine HazMap

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Avoid or minimize skin exposure: recommendation from industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR)Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
7043 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
  • 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.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

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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