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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Limited

Sodium Laureth Sulfate

  • Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
  • This ingredient's score is higher if used in product forms that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns. The score is lower if used in product forms that have lower risk of inhalation (e.g., solids, liquids)
  • This ingredient's score is higher if used in products that may not meet industry safety guidelines or U.S. and international government requirements and may have contamination concerns from toxic impurities. The score will be lower if used in products that do meet these safety guidelines and requirements and EWG’s contamination restrictions.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

● SODIUM POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 600 LAURYL ETHER SULFATE
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL (5) LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 400 LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT
● DTXSID70274019
● CHEMBL3183840
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (8) LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (7) LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (5) LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT
● 410Q7WN1BX
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (12) LAURYL ETHER SULFATE, SODIUM SALT

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Sodium Laureth Sulfate is and ingredient derived from ethoxylated lauryl alcohol and used as a surfactant; may be contaminated with potentially toxic manufacturing impurities such as 1,4-dioxane.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo1452 products
liquid hand soap818 products
facial cleanser244 products
conditioner286 products
bath oil/salts/soak113 products
body wash/cleanser1240 products
shaving cream (men's)2 products
exfoliant/scrub135 products
fragrance for men1 products
mascara181 products
bubble bath195 products
hair color and bleaching58 products
facial moisturizer/treatment6 products
mask16 products
baby shampoo59 products
shaving cream17 products
Preshave Preparations1 products
foot moisturizer1 products
sunless tanning3 products
hair relaxer13 products
hair treatment/serum14 products
bar soap48 products
hair styling aide6 products
eye makeup remover8 products
moisturizer11 products
body firming lotion1 products
Beard Soaps2 products
detangler2 products
eye liner46 products
Exfoliants3 products
makeup remover4 products
baby soap31 products
antiperspirant/deodorant1 products
daily use with SPF2 products
baby bubble bath13 products
makeup primer3 products
brow liner14 products
beard cleanser7 products
hair-loss treatment1 products
Facial Cleansing Water1 products
styling mousse/foam5 products
beard care2 products
foot cleansing3 products
vapor rubs2 products
damaged skin treatment1 products
anti-aging3 products
serums & essences2 products
eyelash glue2 products
bronzer/highlighter6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)1 products
hair spray2 products
personal cleansing2 products
foundation1 products
lip gloss2 products
foot odor control1 products
body powder1 products
baby lotion1 products

Contamination concerns

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Chemical
ETHYLENE OXIDE
1,4-DIOXANE

Data gaps

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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 productCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Informational

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

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any irritant - strong evidenceCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
skin/eye/lung irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
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

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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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