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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

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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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moisturizer558 products
shampoo438 products
facial moisturizer/treatment400 products
body wash/cleanser352 products
bar soap307 products
facial cleanser290 products
mask228 products
conditioner215 products
serums & essences188 products
exfoliant/scrub169 products
hand cream133 products
toothpaste124 products
liquid hand soap120 products
foundation111 products
hair treatment/serum98 products
daily use with SPF95 products
around-eye cream86 products
recreational sunscreen85 products
toners/astringents78 products
hair color and bleaching68 products
mascara68 products
tooth whitening66 products
body firming lotion60 products
baby lotion56 products
makeup primer54 products
hair styling aide54 products
makeup remover51 products
eye liner51 products
eye shadow48 products
styling gel/lotion44 products
shaving cream36 products
bubble bath33 products
baby shampoo31 products
foot moisturizer30 products
anti-aging26 products
after sun product24 products
shaving cream (men's)23 products
brow liner23 products
after shave20 products
baby soap20 products
antiperspirant/deodorant18 products
hand sanitizer18 products
bronzer/highlighter17 products
bath oil/salts/soak15 products
concealer14 products
setting powder/spray14 products
body spray14 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)12 products
hair spray12 products
damaged skin treatment12 products
depilatory11 products
mouthwash11 products
blush11 products
11 products
detangler10 products
sunless tanning10 products
styling mousse/foam9 products
skin fading/lightener8 products
oil controller8 products
BB cream8 products
foot cleansing7 products
beard care7 products
cuticle treatment6 products
eye makeup remover6 products
lipstick6 products
hair-loss treatment6 products
baby wipes5 products
baby sunscreen5 products
foot odor control5 products
baby oil4 products
other eye makeup4 products
body oil4 products
glitter4 products
nail treatment3 products
muscle/joint soreness3 products
hair relaxer3 products
fragrance for women2 products
fragrance for men2 products
beard cleanser2 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
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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