EWG Skin Deep® | What is SORBITAN STEARATE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Sorbitan Stearate

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Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● 1,4-ANHYDRO- 6-OCTADECANOATE D-GLUCITOL

● 1,4-ANHYDRO-D-GLUCITOL, 6-OCTADECANOATE

● 6-OCTADECANOATE 1,4-ANHYDRO-D-GLUCITOL

● 6-OCTADECANOATE D-GLUCITOL, 1,4-ANHYDRO-

● ANHYDROSORBITOL MONOSTEARATE

● D-GLUCITOL, 1,4-ANHYDRO-, 6-OCTADECANOATE

● MONOOCTADECANOATE SORBITAN

● SORBITAN MONOSTEARATE

● SORBITAN STEARATE

● SORBITAN, MONOOCTADECANOATE

This ingredient is not currently on EWG's Skin Deep Restricted or Unacceptable Lists.

Sorbitan stearate is a surfactant composed of sweetener sorbitol and stearic acid, a naturally occurring fatty acid.

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

moisturizer	110 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	64 products
mask	46 products
foundation	38 products
daily use with SPF	36 products
bronzer/highlighter	31 products
recreational sunscreen	25 products
around-eye cream	21 products
lipstick	19 products
eye shadow	14 products
lip gloss	13 products
hand cream	12 products
brow liner	10 products
blush	10 products
BB cream	10 products
body firming lotion	10 products
eye liner	9 products
hair treatment/serum	8 products
exfoliant/scrub	7 products
baby sunscreen	7 products
hair styling aide	7 products
makeup primer	7 products
facial cleanser	7 products
shaving cream	6 products
nail treatment	6 products
serums & essences	6 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	5 products
setting powder/spray	5 products
body wash/cleanser	5 products
styling gel/lotion	5 products
lip balm	5 products
foot moisturizer	4 products
conditioner	4 products
anti-aging	3 products
facial powder	3 products
mascara	3 products
foot cleansing	3 products
toners/astringents	2 products
concealer	2 products
baby lotion	1 products
shaving cream (men's)	1 products
body spray	1 products
damaged skin treatment	1 products
beard care	1 products
nail polish	1 products
CC cream	1 products
lip liner	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)	1 products
makeup remover	1 products
shampoo	1 products
hair color and bleaching	1 products

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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 product	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
277 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Informational

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

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

EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
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.
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.

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