Hundreds of personal care products people use every day may contain the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to a Food and Drug Administration report.
As of 2024, more than 50 PFAS ingredients were used in almost 1,700 unique products, the report finds. The ingredients are added to cosmetics with claims of improving product texture, durability and water resistance and enhancing skin-smoothing or shine effects.
The report shows many Americans could be applying products with PFAS ingredients to their face, eyes and skin daily, sometimes multiple times a day.
PFAS are toxic chemicals linked to many health harms, even at very low doses, including suppression of the immune system and reduced vaccine effectiveness, increased risk of cancer and harm to fetal development.
The December report was required by the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022, the first major change to cosmetic regulation in decades. It mandated that, starting in 2023, cosmetics makers report annually to the FDA each product they make and ingredient they use. The data submitted so far gave the FDA the information it needed to write the report.
Companies aren’t required to test cosmetics ingredients, including PFAS, for safety before using them in products. For over 20 years, EWG has advised consumers to avoid personal care products with PFAS.
More recently, several states, including California, have taken steps to prevent the use of PFAS in cosmetics. These state laws aim to keep harmful substances out of products used every day and could help drive development of safer, PFAS-free cosmetics.
Key findings
The FDA study assessed the use and safety of PFAS intentionally added as ingredients to cosmetic products marketed for sale in the U.S. It analyzed data on 430,134 products submitted to the agency between December 2023 and August 2024.
Some of the top findings include:
- 1,744, or 0.41%, of products contained intentionally added PFAS
- 51 individual PFAS were used as cosmetic ingredients
- PFAS ingredients were most common in eye shadow (20.5% of products), skin care for face and neck (15.9%), eyeliner (8.4%), face powder (6.6%), and foundation (4.5%)
- The most frequently used PFAS was polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, reported in 490 products, or 28.1% of all PFAS cosmetics.
The FDA found there is not enough toxicological data to determine the safety of most PFAS found in personal care products. This means the agency doesn’t yet fully understand the potential health risks of applying these forever chemicals to the skin on a daily basis.
The FDA did flag one PFAS chemical, perfluorohexylethyl triethoxysilane, as a potential safety concern in body lotion when used at the highest reported concentration, based on an animal study showing nervous system impacts.
For other compounds, FDA noted their assessment indicated some PFAS could pose “low safety concerns” in cosmetic products when used as intended.
The PFAS chemicals include PTFE, perfluorodecalin, HC Yellow No. 13, perfluorohexane and tetrafluoropropene.
The FDA’s findings are similar to those published in 2023 by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, an industry funded organization that issues ingredient safety reviews. That review referred to information from a chemical supplier stating all commercial grades of PTFE are contaminated with PFOA and PFOS, two of the most notorious and well-studied PFAS.
In January, the FDA said companies have now submitted data on nearly a million unique cosmetics sold in 2024 and 2025, over double the number of products in its report. This information could go a long way toward clarifying what’s actually in personal care products.
Concerns about PFAS cosmetics
PFAS contaminate not only cosmetics but also food, drinking water and soil. Food and water are believed to be the most significant sources of exposure to PFAS. But cosmetics and other products can also expose people to PFAS.
EWG considers any PFAS used in personal care products to be concerning, even at low amounts. Forever chemicals build up in the body and environment.
That is why the scientific community has urged regulating PFAS as a class and ending all non-essential uses. For these reasons, EWG’s Skin Deep® guide to safer personal care products rates all PFAS compounds a 10 – the highest hazard.
Studies have found cosmetics can contain multiple individual PFAS at high concentrations and that they could be a significant source of short-chain PFAS exposure.
In 2018, EWG analyzed 75,000 cosmetics in Skin Deep to see which ones contained PFAS. The analysis found 13 PFAS used as ingredients. PTFE was the most common forever chemicals ingredient, intentionally used in 66 different products.
A 2024 study in Europe analyzed nearly 765 product labels for PFAS. It identified 11 different PFAS ingredients mostly used in makeup products like foundations, eyeshadow and mascara.
Researchers at Notre Dame tested 231 personal care products, with results published in 2021. The study found that, depending on the product being tested, as many as 50% to 60% had high levels of fluorine, an indicator of the likely presence of PFAS. Foundation, mascara, and eye and lip products contained the highest concentration. But the researchers found that PFAS appeared on the ingredient labels of only 8% of products tested.
PFAS and personal care products
PFAS are used in thousands of commercial and industrial products beyond cosmetics, and these other uses can potentially contaminate personal care products.
Mamavation in 2023 tested more than 165 cosmetics for fluorine, finding a greater amount than expected based on ingredient labels.
PFAS may be in personal care products unintentionally because of raw material impurities. Another possible source are the fluorinated plastic containers used to store chemicals, including fragrances and flavors.
Researchers in California found PFAS in shaving cream and gel, hair care products, facial cleansers, sun care products, and lotions and moisturizers. Some of these products are rinsed off after application, with the chemicals washing down the drain. Cosmetics alone may contribute to the release into the environment thousands of pounds of PFAS contamination.
Avoiding exposure
EWG recommends avoiding cosmetics with intentionally added PFAS. Choosing PFAS-free personal care products is particularly important in the case of cosmetics applied daily, near the eyes and lips, or during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Steps consumers can take to avoid PFAS in cosmetics:
- Check ingredient names carefully. Beware ingredients with “fluoro,” “perfluoro” or “PTFE” in the name. But not all ingredients named “fluoro” are PFAS – for instance, the toothpaste ingredient sodium monofluorophosphate is not a PFAS. Nor is “synthetic fluorphlogopite” which is sometimes spelled fluorophlogopite.
- Use trusted databases and apps. Search Skin Deep or EWG’s Healthy Living App to learn more about ingredients and avoid products with intentionally added PFAS.
- Look for products bearing the EWG Verified® mark. EWG Verified products do not contain PFAS ingredients. They’ve been reviewed by EWG scientists, meeting the organization’s rigorous standards for health and transparency.
