Know Your Environment. Protect Your Health.
EWG Home EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning EWG’s Food Scores Healthy Living App Open menu

EWG's Skin Deep®
Find products and ingredients Learn how Skin Deep® works Meet our experts Discover EWG VERIFIED®
GET UPDATES DONATE
Score legend
HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED®

Data: Good

Octocrylene

  • Products with this ingredient are allowed for use in EWG VERIFIED but must meet use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.
  • This ingredient's score is higher if there is potential contamination from toxic impurities. The score will be lower if used in products that meet EWG’s contamination restrictions.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

SEARCH PRODUCTS

Other Concerns

Persistence and bioaccumulation (low_moderate), Ecotoxicology (low), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low), Contamination concerns (high), and Biochemical or cellular level changes (high)

SYNONYMS

● TOX21_111153_1
● MCULE-9077867311
● NCGC00091585-06
● NCGC00091585-04
● AK-78708
● AC-7027
● OCTOCRYLENE, PHARMACEUTICAL SECONDARY STANDARD; CERTIFIED REFERENCE MATERIAL
● CS-4296
● CCG-268181
● NCGC00091585-01

Restricted

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

Octocrylene is a synthetic UV absorber and sunscreen agent; may be used in combination with other UV absorbers to achieve higher SPF formulas. It produces oxygen radicals when exposed to UV light.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

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

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

Expand content Collapse content
conditioner5 products
body spray33 products
fragrance for women46 products
facial powder1 products
shampoo5 products
lip balm18 products
recreational sunscreen545 products
lip gloss54 products
facial moisturizer/treatment31 products
lipstick16 products
daily use with SPF332 products
after shave1 products
lip balm with SPF64 products
tanning oil10 products
baby sunscreen52 products
makeup primer9 products
fragrance for men3 products
anti-aging5 products
nail polish102 products
moisturizer8 products
foundation57 products
setting powder/spray5 products
concealer3 products
body firming lotion6 products
damaged skin treatment2 products
bronzer/highlighter1 products
body wash/cleanser1 products
sunless tanning18 products
Facial Sun Care23 products
blush19 products
CC cream44 products
liquid hand soap5 products
hand cream2 products
BB cream4 products
body oil6 products
around-eye cream1 products
serums & essences7 products
hair styling aid2 products
hair spray2 products
hair treatment/serum8 products
nail treatment1 products

Contamination concerns

Expand content Collapse content
Chemical
BENZOPHENONE

Biochemical or cellular level changes

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.Photochemical formation of singlet molecular oxygen in illuminated aqueous solutions of several commercially available sunscreen active ingredients(1996-04-01)
Produces excess reactive oxygen species that can interfere with cellular signaling, cause mutations, lead to cell death and may be implicated in cardiovascular disease.Sunscreen enhancement of UV-induced reactive oxygen species in the skin(2006-10-15)

Enhanced skin absorption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Absorbs into the skinThe stripping technique: in vitro absorption and penetration of five UV filters on excised fresh human skin(2000-11-01)
Absorbs into the skinSunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)
Absorbs into the skinEffect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial(2020-01-01)

Decreased skin absorption

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited potential to absorb into the skin.Sunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)

Ecotoxicology

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityOccurrence of UV filters 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and octocrylene in fish from various Swiss rivers with inputs from wastewater treatment plants(2006-03-01)
Suspected to be an environmental toxinMetabolomics Reveal That Octocrylene Accumulates in Pocillopora damicornis Tissues as Fatty Acid Conjugates and Triggers Coral Cell Mitochondrial Dysfunction(2019-01-01)
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada

Persistence and bioaccumulation

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Found to be persistent and bioaccumulative in wildlifeOccurrence of UV filters 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and octocrylene in fish from various Swiss rivers with inputs from wastewater treatment plants(2006-03-01)
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada
Ingredient is suspected or measured to accumulate in peoplePeer Reviewed Literature

Allergies/immunotoxicity

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
One or more human case studies show possible or allergenic effectsContact and photocontact allergy to octocrylene: a review(2014-04-01)

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada

Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)

Expand content Collapse content
CONCERN REFERENCE
Limited evidence of [[system]] irritationPeer Reviewed Literature
  • Photochemical formation of singlet molecular oxygen in illuminated aqueous solutions of several commercially available sunscreen active ingredients(1996-04-01)
  • Sunscreen enhancement of UV-induced reactive oxygen species in the skin(2006-10-15)
  • The stripping technique: in vitro absorption and penetration of five UV filters on excised fresh human skin(2000-11-01)
  • Sunscreen penetration of human skin and related keratinocyte toxicity after topical application(2005-07-01)
  • Effect of Sunscreen Application on Plasma Concentration of Sunscreen Active Ingredients: A Randomized Clinical Trial(2020-01-01)
  • Occurrence of UV filters 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and octocrylene in fish from various Swiss rivers with inputs from wastewater treatment plants(2006-03-01)
  • Metabolomics Reveal That Octocrylene Accumulates in Pocillopora damicornis Tissues as Fatty Acid Conjugates and Triggers Coral Cell Mitochondrial Dysfunction(2019-01-01)
  • Environment Canada
  • Peer Reviewed Literature
  • Contact and photocontact allergy to octocrylene: a review(2014-04-01)

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.

BUILD YOUR OWN REPORT

News & updates

Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
RESEARCH
Big Market for Black Cosmetics, but Less-Hazardous Choices Limited
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
RESEARCH
K-Beauty Trends: Serums, Essences and EWG’s Best Bets
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
NEWS RELEASE
FDA Asks Women To Protect Themselves From Products The Agency Refused To Ban
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
NEWS RELEASE
Study Highlights Importance of Cosmetics Ingredient Safety Tests
READ ALL ARTICLES
Skindeep Healthy Living App

EWG research
on the go

Find personal care, cleaning, and food products on the EWG Healthy Living app.

DOWNLOAD THE APP
OSZAR »