EWG Skin Deep® | What is STEARALKONIUM CHLORIDE

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Data: Limited

Stearalkonium Chloride

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Neurotoxicity (low), Endocrine disruption (low), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM, N,N-DIMETHYL-N-OCTADECYL-, CHLORIDE

● BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM, N,NDIMETHYLNOCTADECYL, CHLORIDE

● BENZYL DIMETHYL STEARYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

● BENZYLDIMETHYL(OCTADECYL)AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

● CHLORIDE BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM, N,N-DIMETHYL-N-OCTADECYL-

● N,N-DIMETHYL-N-OCTADECYL- CHLORIDE BENZENEMETHANAMINIUM

● N,N-DIMETHYL-N-OCTADECYLBENZENEMETHANAMINIUM CHLORIDE

● STEARALKONIUM CHLORIDE

● STEARYL DIMETHYL BENZYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

Unacceptable

Unacceptable: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient

Stearalkonium Chloride is a quaternary ammonium salt.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
HIGH

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

conditioner	171 products
hair treatment/serum	31 products
hair color and bleaching	17 products
hair styling aide	14 products
shampoo	10 products
mask	9 products
moisturizer	8 products
styling gel/lotion	4 products
hand cream	3 products
hair spray	2 products
detangler	2 products
beard care	2 products
facial cleanser	1 products
shaving cream	1 products
hair relaxer	1 products
after shave	1 products
mascara	1 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human any toxicant or allergen	Open scientific literature
Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Open scientific literature

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	Open scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - any	CosIng

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Possible human any toxicant	Open scientific literature
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Neurotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells demonstrate neurotoxicity	Open scientific literature

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show any effects at moderate doses	Open scientific literature

Endocrine disruption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruption	Open scientific literature

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
3 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

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

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
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.
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.

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