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

Tocopherol

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

2H-1-BENZOPYRAN-6-OL, 3,4-DIHYDRO-2,5,7,8-TETRAMETHYL-2-(4,8,12-TRIMETHYLTRIDECYL)-, 2H1BENZOPYRAN6OL, 3,4DIHYDRO2,5,7,8TETRAMETHYL2(4,8,12TRIMETHYLTRIDECYL), 3,4-DIHYDRO-2,5,7,8-TETRAMETHYL-2-(4,8,12-TRIMETHYLTRIDECYL)- 2H-1-BENZOPYRAN-6-OL, 3,4-DIHYDRO-2,5,7,8-TETRAMETHYL-2-(4,8,12-TRIMETHYLTRIDECYL)-2H-1-BENZOPYRAN-6-OL, 3,4-DIHYDRO-2,5,7,8-TETRAMETHYL-2-(4,8,12-TRIMETHYLTRIDECYL)-2H-BENZOPYRAN-6-OL, D-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL, DL-A -TOCOP HEROL, DL-ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL, MIXED TOCOPHEROLS, NATURAL VITAMIN E, TOCOPHEROL, TOCOPHERYL, VITAMIN E, and VITAMIN E OIL

Tocopherols are a class of naturally occurring chemical compounds related to Vitamin E

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

Expand content Collapse content
foundation1387 products
lipstick1247 products
lip balm898 products
moisturizer886 products
facial moisturizer/treatment877 products
lip gloss565 products
concealer560 products
recreational sunscreen516 products
serums & essences448 products
mask368 products
daily use with SPF330 products
brow liner321 products
eye shadow317 products
conditioner310 products
eye liner306 products
facial cleanser288 products
shampoo277 products
exfoliant/scrub259 products
bronzer/highlighter255 products
lip liner254 products
body oil242 products
mascara237 products
antiperspirant/deodorant235 products
hair treatment/serum233 products
blush221 products
body wash/cleanser218 products
around-eye cream195 products
hand cream192 products
makeup primer120 products
lip balm with SPF118 products
liquid hand soap111 products
hair styling aide101 products
baby sunscreen100 products
bar soap99 products
body firming lotion99 products
CC cream87 products
nail polish78 products
baby lotion76 products
facial powder69 products
makeup remover69 products
lip plumper68 products
beard oil68 products
bath oil/salts/soak67 products
hair color and bleaching64 products
BB cream62 products
setting powder/spray61 products
anti-aging57 products
toners/astringents57 products
styling gel/lotion44 products
sunless tanning41 products
41 products
diaper cream39 products
fragrance for women38 products
hand sanitizer38 products
beard care36 products
baby soap32 products
foot moisturizer30 products
bubble bath30 products
shaving cream29 products
damaged skin treatment26 products
baby oil24 products
nail treatment24 products
baby shampoo23 products
cuticle treatment22 products
detangler22 products
body spray21 products
fragrance for men20 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)20 products
muscle/joint soreness19 products
hair spray17 products
after sun product17 products
toothpaste15 products
shaving cream (men's)14 products
styling mousse/foam14 products
body powder12 products
after shave10 products
skin fading/lightener9 products
glitter8 products
beard cleanser8 products
baby wipes7 products
baby powder7 products
eyelash glue7 products
mouthwash6 products
hair removal waxes5 products
baby bubble bath5 products
hair-loss treatment5 products
tanning oil5 products
oil controller4 products
eye makeup remover4 products
depilatory4 products
polish remover4 products
body art4 products
vapor rubs3 products
tooth whitening3 products
foot odor control2 products
other eye makeup1 products
hair relaxer1 products

Contamination concerns

Expand content Collapse content
Chemical
HYDROQUINONE

Cancer

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more animal studies show tumor formation at high dosesOpen scientific literature

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
43489 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

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

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

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 bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • 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.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.

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

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP