EWG Skin Deep® | What is DIETHANOLAMINE

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Data: Robust

Diethanolamine

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (high), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high), Occupational hazards (high), and Contamination concerns (high)

SYNONYMS

2,2'-DIHYDROXYDIETHYLAMINE, 2,2'-IMINOBISETHANOL, 2,2'-IMINODIETHANOL, DEA (EWG), DIETHANOLAMINE, ETHANOL, 2,2 IMINOBIS, and N,N-DIETHANOLAMINE

Restricted

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

Diethanolamine is an aliphatic amine.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

MODERATE

Cancer
MODERATE

Allergies & Immunotoxicity
LOW

Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
HIGH

Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

CONCERNS
DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

facial moisturizer/treatment

1 products

Contamination concerns

Chemical
NITROSAMINES

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Classified as irritant	CPS&Q - Classification & Labelling
Limited evidence of skin irritation	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Use restrictions

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics	Canada - Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetics Ingredients
Violation of government restrictions - Banned or found unsafe for use in cosmetics	CosIng
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualifications	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Known human respiratory toxicant	EPA Hazardous Air Pollutants
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 cardiovascular or blood 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
One or more animal studies show any effects at moderate doses (low dose studies may be unavailable for this ingredient)	EPA Categorized List of Inert Pesticide Ingredients

Occupational hazards

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

Allergies/immunotoxicity

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Human immune and respiratory toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics
Human skin toxicant or allergen - strong evidence	Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
Limited evidence of immune system toxicity or allergies	National Library of Medicine HazMap

Cancer

CONCERN	REFERENCE
Possible human carcinogen	Open scientific literature
Possible human carcinogen	California EPA Proposition 65
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	Open scientific literature
Limited evidence of carcinogenicity	Int'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens
Cancer - limited evidence	Scorecard.org Toxicity Information
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

Developmental/reproductive toxicity

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

Data gaps

CONCERN	REFERENCE
2147 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical	NLM PubMed

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.
NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
Health Canada. 2007. List of Prohibited and Restricted Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada's Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist. March 2007.
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/ .
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2005. Office of Air. The 112(b)1 Hazardous Air Pollutants List (as modified). Last modified: 12 Dec 2005.
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.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1999. Toxics Release Inventory Program. PBT Chemical Rule.
EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 1987 & 2005. Office of Pesticide Programs. Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients in Pesticide Products - Categorized List of Inert (other) Pesticide Ingredients.
AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
California EPA (California Environmental Protection Agency). 9/2008. Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Chemicals known to the State to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
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).
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.

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Moderate Availability

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