EWG Skin Deep® | What is SODIUM PCA

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Sodium Pca

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (low) and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

5-OXO- MONOSODIUM SALT DL-PROLINE, 5-OXO-DL-PROLINE, MONOSODIUM SALT, DL-PROLINE, 5-OXO-, MONOSODIUM SALT, MONOSODIUM SALT 5-OXO-DL-PROLINE, MONOSODIUM SALT DL-PROLINE, 5-OXO-, PCA SODA, SODIUM 5-OXO-L-PROLINATE, SODIUM DL-2-PYRROLIDONE-5-CARBOXYLATE, SODIUM DL-PYRROLIDONECARBOXYLATE SOLUTION, SODIUM PCA, and SODIUM PYROGLUTAMATE

Restricted

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

Sodium PCA is a derivative of naturally occurring amino acid proline; it is used as a conditioning agent.

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

foundation	242 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	148 products
moisturizer	106 products
shampoo	103 products
conditioner	89 products
mask	80 products
facial cleanser	76 products
serums & essences	71 products
body wash/cleanser	60 products
toners/astringents	54 products
daily use with SPF	46 products
concealer	46 products
exfoliant/scrub	42 products
around-eye cream	37 products
hair treatment/serum	35 products
hand cream	33 products
hair styling aide	18 products
hair color and bleaching	14 products
BB cream	13 products
anti-aging	11 products
body firming lotion	11 products
liquid hand soap	10 products
baby lotion	10 products
after shave	10 products
hair spray	10 products
styling gel/lotion	10 products
makeup remover	8 products
makeup primer	6 products
lip gloss	6 products
bar soap	5 products
detangler	4 products
lip balm	4 products
blush	4 products
eye shadow	4 products
lipstick	4 products
recreational sunscreen	4 products
beard care	4 products
sunless tanning	4 products
baby soap	4 products
setting powder/spray	4 products
foot moisturizer	3 products
hair-loss treatment	2 products
bubble bath	2 products
other eye makeup	2 products
hand sanitizer	2 products
skin fading/lightener	2 products
	2 products
bronzer/highlighter	2 products
after sun product	2 products
mascara	2 products
nail treatment	1 products
shaving cream	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
oil controller	1 products
styling mousse/foam	1 products
muscle/joint soreness	1 products
baby shampoo	1 products
baby toothpaste	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
cuticle treatment	1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
NITROSAMINES

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Informational

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

Ecotoxicology

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

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistent	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
2 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.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
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.

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