Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Fair

Squalene

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

SYNONYMS

● 2,6,10,14,18,22-TETRACOSAHEXAENE 2,6,10,15,19,23-HEXAMETHYL-
● 2,6,10,14,18,22-TETRACOSAHEXAENE, 2,6,10,15,19,23-HEXAMETHYL-,
● 2,6,10,14,18,22TETRACOSAHEXAENE, 2,6,10,15,19,23HEXAMETHYL, (ALLE)
● 2,6,10,15,19,23-HEXAMETHYL-, 2,6,10,14,18,22-TETRACOSAHEXAENE
● 2,6,10,15,19,23-HEXAMETHYL-2,6,10,14,18,22-TETRACOSAHEXAENE
● 2,6,10,15,19,23-HEXAMETHYLTETRACOSA-2,6,10,14,18,22-HEXAENE
● SQUALENE
● SQUALENE OIL

Restricted

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

Squalene is a naturally occuring lipid in both plants and animals. This ingredient is listed in the PETA's Caring Consumer guide as primarily derived from animals, especially shark liver oil.

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
lipstick66 products
foundation54 products
facial moisturizer/treatment27 products
around-eye cream12 products
serums & essences12 products
antiperspirant/deodorant11 products
moisturizer11 products
bronzer/highlighter11 products
lip balm with SPF6 products
concealer6 products
hair treatment/serum6 products
makeup primer5 products
mask4 products
blush4 products
facial cleanser4 products
lip balm4 products
lip gloss3 products
body oil3 products
daily use with SPF2 products
conditioner2 products
hair styling aide2 products
hand cream2 products
recreational sunscreen2 products
2 products
baby lotion2 products
body firming lotion1 products
facial powder1 products
setting powder/spray1 products
lip liner1 products
fragrance for women1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
shampoo1 products
foot moisturizer1 products
muscle/joint soreness1 products
makeup remover1 products
hair removal waxes1 products

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Uncertain environmental toxin and uncertain persistent or bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

Expand content Collapse content
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
3193 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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

Informational

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

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.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

Discover a curated selection of healthier beauty and personal care products. Donate today to get your EWG VERIFIED® holiday gift set!

GET IT NOW