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Data: Limited

Steareth 2

  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met the program’s impurity and use restrictions based on EWG's review of the company's data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

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

SYNONYMS

● 2-[2-(OCTADECYLOXY)ETHOXY]ETHANOL
● 2-[2-OCTADECYLOXY)ETHOXY]- ETHANOL
● ETHANOL, 2-[2-OCTADECYLOXY)ETHOXY]-
● PEG-2 STEARYL ETHER
● POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL (100) STEARYL ETHER
● POLYOXYETHYLENE (2) STEARYL ETHER
● STEARETH-2

Restricted

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


Steareth-2 is a surfactant composed of polyethylene glycol polymer and stearyl alcohol.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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moisturizer51 products
mascara36 products
facial moisturizer/treatment29 products
antiperspirant/deodorant22 products
daily use with SPF21 products
hair styling aide15 products
sunless tanning14 products
mask14 products
brow liner12 products
hand cream11 products
conditioner10 products
facial cleanser8 products
hair treatment/serum8 products
recreational sunscreen6 products
exfoliant/scrub5 products
around-eye cream5 products
styling gel/lotion4 products
BB cream3 products
serums & essences3 products
hair color and bleaching3 products
after shave3 products
foot moisturizer2 products
bronzer/highlighter2 products
eye liner2 products
styling mousse/foam2 products
anti-aging2 products
beard care1 products
depilatory1 products
shaving cream1 products
detangler1 products
body firming lotion1 products
foot odor control1 products
baby oil1 products
eye makeup remover1 products
makeup remover1 products
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's)1 products
skin fading/lightener1 products
lip balm1 products
tanning oil1 products
makeup primer1 products

Contamination concerns

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Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of sense organ toxicityScorecard.org Toxicity Information
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Determined safe for use in cosmetics, subject to concentration or use limitations - Safe for use in cosmetics with some qualificationsCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
any irritation - weight of evidence unknown/unassessedOpen scientific literature

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Safety assessment was based on related chemicalCosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments
35 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Food Additive Status

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
  • ED (Environmental Defense). 2006. Scorecard _ The Pollution Information Site. http://www.scorecard.org.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.
  • 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.

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

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

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