EWG Skin Deep® | What is ZINC SULFATE

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Good

Zinc Sulfate

This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around the eyes due to increased risk of absorption.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use around mouth due to increased risk of ingestion and absorption.
This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products intended for use on lips due to increased risk of ingestion and absorption.
Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Persistence and bioaccumulation (moderate), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), Ecotoxicology (low), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● SULFURIC ACID, ZINC SALT

● SULFURIC ACID, ZINC SALT (1:1)

● SULFURIC ACID, ZINC SALT (1:1); ZINC SULFATE

● ZINC SALT SULFURIC ACID

● ZINC SULFATE

● ZINC SULPHATE

Restricted

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

Zinc Sulfate is an inorganic salt.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

LOW

Cancer
LOW

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

nail polish	28 products
liquid hand soap	20 products
conditioner	9 products
shampoo	8 products
facial moisturizer/treatment	7 products
serums & essences	5 products
exfoliant/scrub	3 products
around-eye cream	2 products
facial cleanser	2 products
hair-loss treatment	2 products
hair treatment/serum	2 products
daily use with SPF	2 products
bar soap	1 products
recreational sunscreen	1 products
moisturizer	1 products
hair styling aide	1 products
baby lotion	1 products
toners/astringents	1 products
anti-aging	1 products

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
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - any	Open scientific literature

Occupational hazards

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low doses	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Persistence and bioaccumulation

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Persistent or bioaccumulative and moderate to high toxicity concern in humans	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife	Canada PBTs - Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET)
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of eye toxicity	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as toxic or harmful	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of any toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
One or more animal studies show classified as toxic effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)	EPA Toxic Release Inventory PBTs
Classified as a low human health priority	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Limited evidence of developmental toxicity	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information

Ecotoxicology

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative	Environment Canada Domestic Substance List
Wildlife and environmental toxicity	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
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
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food	FDA Food Additive Status

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
2573 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
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/ .
CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
EC (Environment Canada). 1994. Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxics (ARET). ARET substance list of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic chemicals.
ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
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.
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