Dimethicone
- Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
Other Concerns
Use restrictions (moderate), Persistence and bioaccumulation (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate), and Ecotoxicology (low)SYNONYMS
Restricted
Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation
Dimethicone (also called polymethylsiloxane) is a silicon-based polymer used as a lubricant and conditioning agent.
Common concerns
See how this product scores for common concerns.
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LOWCancer
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LOWAllergies & Immunotoxicity
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LOWDevelopmental and Reproductive Toxicity
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MODERATEUse Restrictions
Ingredient concerns
- CONCERNS
- DATA SOURCES
Products with this Ingredient
foundation | 1779 products |
eye shadow | 974 products |
lipstick | 942 products |
moisturizer | 908 products |
concealer | 751 products |
facial moisturizer/treatment | 620 products |
conditioner | 518 products |
bronzer/highlighter | 441 products |
daily use with SPF | 385 products |
blush | 334 products |
recreational sunscreen | 311 products |
eye liner | 278 products |
hair treatment/serum | 275 products |
shampoo | 250 products |
hand cream | 209 products |
CC cream | 185 products |
brow liner | 170 products |
mask | 170 products |
serums & essences | 170 products |
around-eye cream | 168 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant | 162 products |
hair styling aide | 154 products |
nail polish | 151 products |
makeup primer | 147 products |
facial powder | 142 products |
setting powder/spray | 98 products |
BB cream | 97 products |
lip gloss | 90 products |
lip liner | 88 products |
body firming lotion | 76 products |
antiperspirant/deodorant (men's) | 60 products |
anti-aging | 58 products |
baby lotion | 53 products |
styling gel/lotion | 52 products |
hair color and bleaching | 49 products |
mascara | 48 products |
lip balm | 47 products |
sunless tanning | 46 products |
44 products | |
baby sunscreen | 41 products |
glitter | 36 products |
facial cleanser | 27 products |
foot moisturizer | 24 products |
after shave | 23 products |
hair spray | 23 products |
shaving cream | 22 products |
exfoliant/scrub | 20 products |
makeup remover | 20 products |
nail treatment | 20 products |
body wash/cleanser | 19 products |
hand sanitizer | 18 products |
body oil | 17 products |
detangler | 16 products |
lip balm with SPF | 15 products |
damaged skin treatment | 12 products |
diaper cream | 11 products |
skin fading/lightener | 9 products |
other eye makeup | 9 products |
after sun product | 7 products |
cuticle treatment | 6 products |
styling mousse/foam | 6 products |
shaving cream (men's) | 6 products |
lip plumper | 6 products |
pore strips | 6 products |
muscle/joint soreness | 5 products |
beard care | 5 products |
foot odor control | 4 products |
baby oil | 4 products |
body spray | 4 products |
tanning oil | 4 products |
bar soap | 4 products |
baby wipes | 4 products |
beard cleanser | 4 products |
fragrance for women | 3 products |
toners/astringents | 3 products |
makeup removing wipes | 3 products |
liquid hand soap | 2 products |
hair-loss treatment | 2 products |
body cleansing wipes | 2 products |
baby shampoo | 2 products |
eye makeup remover | 1 products |
baby soap | 1 products |
fragrance for men | 1 products |
bubble bath | 1 products |
hair relaxer | 1 products |
tooth whitening | 1 products |
depilatory | 1 products |
body powder | 1 products |
eyelash glue | 1 products |
beard oil | 1 products |
bath oil/salts/soak | 1 products |
polish remover | 1 products |
toothpaste | 1 products |
foot cleansing | 1 products |
nail glue | 1 products |
baby bubble bath | 1 products |
body art | 1 products |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife and humans | Open scientific literature |
Persistent, bioaccumulative in wildlife | Open scientific literature |
Not suspected to be bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Use restrictions
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Recommended restricted in cosmetics - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - Product type restrictions or differences noted in safety assessment by industry panel | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Classified as expected to be toxic or harmful | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Ecotoxicology
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Suspected to be an environmental toxin and be persistent or bioaccumulative | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environment Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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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 product | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
218 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemical | NLM PubMed |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food |
Informational
CONCERN | REFERENCE |
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Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - any | Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments |
- Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 SCORESHazard 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.