STEARIC ACID
Fragrance Ingredient; Surfactant - Cleansing Agent; Surfactant - Emulsifying AgentSurfactant-Cleansing Agent is included as a function for the soap form of Stearic Acid.; EMULSION STABILISING; MASKING; REFATTING
Also listed as
N-OCTADECANOIC ACID; OCTADECANOIC ACID; 1-HEPTADECANECARBOXYLIC ACID; CENTURY 1240; CETYLACETIC ACID; DAR-CHEM 14; EMERSOL 120; EMERSOL 132; EMERSOL 150; FORMULA 300; GLYCON DP
Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to this ingredient -- not the products containing it -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.
| This ingredient: | |
 | Cancer |
 | Developmental/reproductive toxicity |
| Violations, restrictions & warnings |
| Allergies/immunotoxicity |
| Contamination concerns |
 | Other moderate concerns for this ingredient: Neurotoxicity, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) |
| Lesser or emerging concerns for this ingredient: Endocrine disruption, Ecotoxicology, Data gaps |
|
See products containing STEARIC ACID | |
About STEARIC ACID: Stearic Acid is the fatty acid that conforms generally to the formula:
This ingredient may be derived from animals. From PETA's Caring Consumer: Fat from cows and sheep and from dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters, etc. Most often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs. Can be harsh, irritating. Used in cosmetics, soaps, lubricants, candles, hairspray, conditioners, deodorants, creams, chewing gum, food flavoring. Derivatives: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine, Stearyl Imidazoline. Alternatives: Stearic acid can be found in many vegetable fats, coconut.
STEARIC ACID has reported used in the following product types: moisturizer (1124); facial moisturizer/treatment (864); mascara (774); anti-aging (510); foundation (437); facial cleanser (307); sunscreen: SPF 15-30 (304); sunscreen: makeup (200); hand cream (185); exfoliant/scrub (176)
Neurotoxicity
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at very low doses | RTECS®- Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica 1961 | |
| show more | ||
Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show respiratory effects at very low doses | products that may be aerosolized (airborne) | RTECS®- Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica 1961 |
| show more | ||
Cancer
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more in vitro tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results | RTECS®- Mutation Research 2005 | |
| show more | ||
Endocrine disruption
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show endocrine system disruption at high doses | RTECS®- International Journal of Toxicology (Continous: Journal of the American College of Toxicology,Taylor & Francis Health Sciences) V 1999 | |
| show more | ||
Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs)
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| One or more animal studies show skin irritation at low doses | RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1979 | |
| show more | ||
Ecotoxicology
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Suspected to be an environmental toxin | Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List |
Data gaps
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| 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 | |
| 618 studies on toxicity in PubMed see search results -> | PubMed |
Multiple, additive exposure sources
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Everything Added to Food | |
| Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in food | FDA Food Additive Status |
Persistence and bioaccumulation
| type of concern | product conditions | reference |
| Not suspected to be persistent | Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | |
| show more | ||
Government, industry, academic studies and classifications
| government/industry list/academic study | appears on list as | classification(s) |
| FDA Food Additive Status | STEARIC ACID | • miscellaneous • Food additive: food additive for which a petition has been filed and a regulation issued • Food additive: must be in accordance with good manufacturing practices, or sufficient for purpose; or in quantity not greater than required • Comp of chewing gum -172.615 • Food additive: food additive for which a petition has been filed and a regulation issued • cross reference wi fatty acids - CFR172.860 • GRAS (generally recognized as safe) - use in food presumed safe based either on a history of use before 1958 or on published scientific evidence; need not be approved by the FDA prior to use in food; most have not limit for use but must conform to good manufacturing practices; some GRAS substances have quantitative limit for use in foods; by definition under Sec 201(s) of FD&C Act, not food additives • Food additive: must be in accordance with good manufacturing practices, or sufficient for purpose; or in quantity not greater than required • 184.1090 |
| Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics | STEARIC ACID | • o |
| Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments | STEARIC ACID | •Safe as used in cosmetics according to industry panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) •Maximum reported "as used" concentration is basis of safety assessment by industry safety panel (Cosmetic Ingredient Review, CIR) - implicit safe concentration limit in product |
| EPA Water Disinfection By-Products Carcinogenicity | OCTADECANOIC ACID | •Low concern for potential carcinogenicity |
| FDA Everything Added to Food | STEARIC ACID | • Fully up-to-date toxicology information has been sought. |
| Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | OCTADECANOIC ACID | •This chemical was NOT flagged by CEPA for further attention. The chemical was flagged as a low human health priority and for suspected aquatic toxicity. |
| IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List | STEARIC ACID | •The chemical has been reported as used in fragrance compounds by IFRA affiliated member companies in 2008. |
| RTECS®- "Cutaneous Toxicity, Proceedings of the 3rd Conference, 1976," Drill, V 1977 | STEARIC ACID | • skin - Primary skin irritant ( human ) |
| RTECS®- Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica 1961 | STEARIC ACID | • brain and nervous system - Convulsions or effect on seizure threshold (rat LD50) • respiratory - Other changes (rat LD50) |
| RTECS®- British Journal of Cancer 1963 | STEARIC ACID | • cancer - kidney or renal system tumor formations - equivocal (mouse TDLo) |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1979 | STEARIC ACID | • skin - Primary skin irritant (rabbit ) |
| RTECS®- International Journal of Toxicology (Continous: Journal of the American College of Toxicology,Taylor & Francis Health Sciences) V 1999 | STEARIC ACID | • endocrine system - Death in the "U" data type field (rat TDLo) • brain and nervous system - Food intake (animal) (rat TDLo) • respiratory - Other changes (rat TDLo) |
| RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology 1995 | STEARIC ACID | • endocrine system - Death in the "U" data type field (rat TDLo) |
| RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology 1987 | STEARIC ACID | • broad systemic - Broad systemic toxicity (rat LDLo) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2005 | STEARIC ACID | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage ( human lvr) |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2005 | STEARIC ACID | • mutagenic - Positive mutation assay: DNA Damage ( human lvr) |
references
| government/industry list/academic study | reference |
| FDA Food Additive Status | 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. |
| Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics | AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation. |
| Cosmetic Ingredient Review Assessments | CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2006. CIR Compendium, containing abstracts, discussions, and conclusions of CIR cosmetic ingredient safety assessments. Washington DC. |
| EPA Water Disinfection By-Products Carcinogenicity | EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). 2006. EPA Water Disinfection By-Products with Carcinogenicity Estimates. Last updated: 10 April 2006. |
| FDA Everything Added to Food | 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. |
| Environmental Canada Domestic Substance List | EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry. |
| IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List | IFRA (International Fragrance Assocication). 2010. IFRA Fragrance Ingredient List based on 2008 Use Survey. Accessed online 01/04/2010: http://www.ifraorg.org/Home/News/Latest-News/page.aspx/66?xf_itemId=43&xf_selectionDatapartId=25 |
| RTECS®- "Cutaneous Toxicity, Proceedings of the 3rd Conference, 1976," Drill, V 1977 | RTECS®- "Cutaneous Toxicity, Proceedings of the 3rd Conference, 1976," Drill, V.A., and P. Lazar, eds., New York, Academic Press, Inc. 1977 -,127,1977 |
| RTECS®- Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica 1961 | RTECS®- Acta Pharmacologica et Toxicologica. (Copenhagen, Denmark) V.1-59, 1945-86. For publisher information, see PHTOEH 18,141,1961 |
| RTECS®- British Journal of Cancer 1963 | RTECS®- British Journal of Cancer. (Macmillan Press Ltd., Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hants. RG21 2XS, UK) V.1- 1947- 17,127,1963 |
| RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology 1979 | RTECS®- Food and Cosmetics Toxicology. (London, UK) V.1-19, 1963-81. For publisher information, see FCTOD7. 17,383,1979 |
| RTECS®- International Journal of Toxicology (Continous: Journal of the American College of Toxicology,Taylor & Francis Health Sciences) V 1999 | RTECS®- International Journal of Toxicology (Continous: Journal of the American College of Toxicology,Taylor & Francis Health Sciences) V.16- 1997- 18,33,1999 |
| RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology 1995 | RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology. (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 1651 Third Ave., New York, NY 10128) V.1-12, 1982-1993. Discontinued. 14,196,1995 |
| RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology 1987 | RTECS®- Journal of the American College of Toxicology. (Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 1651 Third Ave., New York, NY 10128) V.1-12, 1982-1993. Discontinued. 6(3),321,1987 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2005 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- 577S,1,2005 |
| RTECS®- Mutation Research 2005 | RTECS®- Mutation Research. (Elsevier Science Pub. B.V., POB 211, 1000 AE Amsterdam, Netherlands) V.1- -1964 577S,1,2005 |
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