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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Limited

Hexyl Salicylate

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Endocrine disruption (low) and Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)

SYNONYMS

● 2-HYDROXY- HEXYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID
● BENZOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-, HEXYL ESTER
● BENZOIC ACID, 2HYDROXY, HEXYL ESTER
● HEXYL ESTER BENZOIC ACID, 2-HYDROXY-
● HEXYL SALICYLATE
● N-HEXYL ESTER SALICYL ACID
● N-HEXYLSALICYLIC ACID
● SALICYL ACID, N-HEXYL ESTER

Restricted

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

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
shampoo10 products
moisturizer4 products
bar soap3 products
body wash/cleanser2 products
liquid hand soap2 products
antiperspirant/deodorant2 products
hair treatment/serum1 products
hand sanitizer1 products
baby soap1 products
baby bubble bath1 products
hand cream1 products
mask1 products
exfoliant/scrub1 products

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any or allergenic effects at moderate dosesOpen scientific literature
any or allergies - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature
Not likely to be a any toxicant or allergenic in humansOpen scientific literature

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature
One or more animal studies show any irritation at high dosesOpen scientific literature

Endocrine disruption

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Associated with endocrine disruptionOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityOpen scientific literature
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
6 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • 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.

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.

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