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)
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 SOLUTIONSodium Hydroxide is a highly caustic and reactive inorganic base.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
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HIGHUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
moisturizer | 558 products |
shampoo | 438 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 400 products |
body wash/cleanser | 352 products |
bar soap | 307 products |
facial cleanser | 290 products |
mask | 228 products |
conditioner | 215 products |
serums & essences | 188 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 169 products |
hand cream | 133 products |
toothpaste | 124 products |
liquid hand soap | 120 products |
foundation | 111 products |
hair treatment/serum | 98 products |
daily use with SPF | 95 products |
around-eye cream | 86 products |
recreational sunscreen | 85 products |
toners/astringents | 78 products |
hair color and bleaching | 68 products |
mascara | 68 products |
tooth whitening | 66 products |
body firming lotion | 60 products |
baby lotion | 56 products |
makeup primer | 54 products |
hair styling aide | 54 products |
makeup remover | 51 products |
eye liner | 51 products |
eye shadow | 48 products |
styling gel/lotion | 44 products |
shaving cream | 36 products |
bubble bath | 33 products |
baby shampoo | 31 products |
foot moisturizer | 30 products |
anti-aging | 26 products |
after sun product | 24 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 23 products |
brow liner | 23 products |
after shave | 20 products |
baby soap | 20 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 18 products |
hand sanitizer | 18 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 17 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 15 products |
concealer | 14 products |
setting powder/spray | 14 products |
body spray | 14 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 12 products |
hair spray | 12 products |
damaged skin treatment | 12 products |
depilatory | 11 products |
mouthwash | 11 products |
blush | 11 products |
11 products | |
detangler | 10 products |
sunless tanning | 10 products |
styling mousse/foam | 9 products |
skin fading/lightener | 8 products |
oil controller | 8 products |
BB cream | 8 products |
foot cleansing | 7 products |
beard care | 7 products |
cuticle treatment | 6 products |
eye makeup remover | 6 products |
lipstick | 6 products |
hair-loss treatment | 6 products |
baby wipes | 5 products |
baby sunscreen | 5 products |
foot odor control | 5 products |
baby oil | 4 products |
other eye makeup | 4 products |
body oil | 4 products |
glitter | 4 products |
nail treatment | 3 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 3 products |
hair relaxer | 3 products |
fragrance for women | 2 products |
fragrance for men | 2 products |
beard cleanser | 2 products |
depilatory (men's) | 1 products |
baby bubble bath | 1 products |
lip balm | 1 products |
lip plumper | 1 products |
hair removal waxes | 1 products |
lip gloss | 1 products |
tanning oil | 1 products |
body art | 1 products |
baby toothpaste | 1 products |
pore strips | 1 products |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 - any | CosIng |
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Classified as medium human health priority | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Occupational hazards
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Single case study detailing occupational hazards | National Library of Medicine HazMap |
Miscellaneous
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Occupational hazards related to handling | CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Informational
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
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 |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
---|---|
7043 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM 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 SCORESHazard 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.