Steareth-20

Today's Chemical:
Steareth-20

EWG Risk Score:

1

But see my opinion below!

What is it?
Cleaning agent, thickener, emulsifier

Why is it a risk?
Steareth-20 is also known as polyoxyethylene 20 stearyl ether. Even though the EWG Skin Deep database only gives it a "1" rating, it can be contaminated with the known carcinogen 1,4-dioxane. According to the FDA anything with a PEG," "Polyethylene," "Polyethylene glycol," "Polyoxyethylene," "-eth-," or "-oxynol-" can be contaminated with 1,4-Dioxane because of the way that it has been manufactured. (Read the article here). No matter if it is "vegetable derived" or not.  There are other steareths.  The number following the "steareth" refers to how many units of ethylene oxide were reacted with the stearyl alcohol.  In other words, the higher the number, the higher the risk. 

What type of products is it found in?
Deodorants, lotions, cleaners, salad dressings

A few companies that use this chemical:

• Lafe's
• Aveeno
• Nivea
• Jason
• Zia
• Dove
• Ban
• Avon
• Banana Boat
• Neutrogena
• Revlon

Steph's Opinion:
Somehow this ingredient slipped through the cracks of the EWG database. I think if they really knew what this ingredient was, they'd give it a 7 or 8. Because there are so many chemicals in their database, it's hard for their staff to look at each one individually.

One thing that suprised me was that Lafe's and Zia use this ingredient. They both are supposedly "natural" products that are carried in Whole Foods and other health food stores.

Sources:
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=724158
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cosdiox.html
http://www.cosmeticsathome.co.uk/emulsifiers.htm