EWG Skin Deep® | What is IRON OXIDES

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Fair

Iron Oxides

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Enhanced skin absorption, Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), and Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)

SYNONYMS

BLACK IRON OXIDE, BLACK OXIDE OF IRON, BROWN IRON OXIDE, C.I. PIGMENT BROWN 7, CI 77489, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, FERRIC OXIDE, FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE, FERROUS-FERRIC OXIDE, HYDRATED FERRIC OXIDE, IRON BLACK OXIDE, IRON HYDROXIDE OXIDE, IRON OXIDE, IRON OXIDE (FEO), IRON OXIDE RED 10-34-PC-2045, IRON OXIDES, IRON YELLOW OXIDE, IRON(II) OXIDE, MAGNETITE, NATURAL IRON OXIDE, PIGMENT BLACK 11, PIGMENT BROWN 6, PIGMENT BROWN 7, PIGMENT RED 101, PIGMENT YELLOW 42, PIGMENT YELLOW 43, RED IRON OXIDE, SYNTHETIC IRON OXIDE, YELLOW IRON OXIDE, and YELLOW OXIDE OF IRON

Iron oxides are inorganic chemicals used as colorants.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reingredientive Toxicity
LOW

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

foundation	7015 products
lipstick	6027 products
eye shadow	3617 products
concealer	3301 products
lip gloss	2155 products
brow liner	1973 products
blush	1688 products
bronzer/highlighter	1647 products
eye liner	1637 products
lip liner	1157 products
mascara	868 products
facial powder	850 products
lip balm	836 products
nail polish	725 products
daily use with SPF	547 products
setting powder/spray	416 products
CC cream	328 products
BB cream	314 products
makeup primer	289 products
mask	212 products
	184 products
bar soap	149 products
recreational sunscreen	147 products
hair color and bleaching	145 products
lip plumper	143 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	133 products
lip balm with SPF	125 products
exfoliant/scrub	99 products
around-eye cream	95 products
glitter	94 products
serums & essences	76 products
body oil	74 products
shampoo	71 products
bath oil/salts/soak	52 products
body wash/cleanser	48 products
facial cleanser	45 products
moisturizer	43 products
anti-aging	29 products
hair styling aide	22 products
sunless tanning	17 products
body powder	17 products
conditioner	15 products
eyelash glue	9 products
hair treatment/serum	9 products
skin fading/lightener	8 products
styling gel/lotion	7 products
liquid hand soap	6 products
nail treatment	6 products
nail glue	6 products
pore strips	6 products
bubble bath	6 products
oil controller	5 products
body firming lotion	5 products
toners/astringents	5 products
makeup remover	5 products
body spray	5 products
body art	5 products
shaving cream (men's)	4 products
depilatory	3 products
other eye makeup	3 products
hand sanitizer	3 products
muscle/joint soreness	3 products
baby sunscreen	3 products
hair-loss treatment	2 products
foot cleansing	2 products
styling mousse/foam	2 products
fragrance for men	2 products
toothpaste	1 products
hand cream	1 products
hair spray	1 products
shaving cream	1 products
tanning oil	1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant	1 products

Enhanced skin absorption

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected nano-scale ingredients with potential to absorb into the skin	Nanomaterial Database

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans	National Library of Medicine HazMap
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife	National Library of Medicine HazMap
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of respiratory toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as a low human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
9326 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 - Color Additives - Exempt from Batch Certification by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration	CTFA International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - Color additive approved by FDA for use in cosmetics	FDA Color Additive Status

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited or incomplete evidence of cancer according to safety/hazard data – government assessment cannot classify as human carcinogen due to data gaps	Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens

NanoWerk. 2007. Nanomaterial Database. Available online: http://www.nanowerk.com/phpscripts/n_dbsearch.php
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
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.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
CTFA (Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association). 2006. International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, 11th Edition. Color Additive Information. Washington, DC.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) 2006. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Color Additive Status List. September 2006.
IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).

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