Is Water safe in cosmetics?
Water has a safety rating of "EXCELLENT" in our database. EU status: permitted. US status: permitted.
EXCELLENT
Cosmetic Ingredient
Water
Also known as: EC No.: 231-791-2, 231-791-2, EINECS 231-791-2, Water, deionized, Water, mineral (+15 more)
INCI: WATER (AQUA IN EU LABELING)
Water (CAS 7732-18-5) is a cosmetic cosmetic ingredient functioning as Solvent, vehicle/carrier. EU Regulation 1223/2009 status: permitted. Industrial safety data is also available in the chemical safety database. Same-CAS public records also appear in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data.
Function
Solvent, vehicle/carrier
Editorial assessment
EXCELLENT
Preliminary editorial note — not a computed safety verdict.
Chemistry & Identifiers
IUPAC Name
oxidane
InChIKey
XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N
Regulatory Status
EU EU Status
permitted
US US Status
permitted
US Notes
Permitted; not regulated as an active ingredient; USP-grade water required for drug products
For full compliance data across multiple jurisdictions, use the Substance Compliance tool.
Safety Data
Margin of Safety, dermal absorption, and sensitization profile summaries for Water.
Calculate MoS for your specific formulation with the MoS Calculator.
EPA ToxValDB — Toxicity Values
2 toxicity values from EPA ToxValDB (aggregated from CCTE, HPV, ToxRefDB, IRIS, and other regulatory dossiers).
| Endpoint | Value | Species | Route | Duration | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOEL | =1000 mg/kg-day | Rat | oral | - | ECHA |
| LD50 | >90 mL/kg | Rat | oral | - | ChemIDplus |
Expanded Dermal Absorption Data
Cross-database dermal penetration: EPA Dryad physics-based, Roberts Mendeley permeation, and SCCS-aggregated measured values.
EPA Dryad Skin Absorption (physics-based)
MW: 18.015
LogP: -1.38
Kp epidermis: 0.99586 cm/h
Source: EPA Dryad Skin Absorption 2024
Roberts Skin Permeation (Mendeley 2022)
MW: 18
Log Kow: -1.38
Log Kp: -2.8068754016455384
Log Jmax: -4.06
Source: Roberts Cheruvu Mendeley 2022
Function Categories & List Membership
Cosmetic/Chemical Function Categories
Adhesion/cohesion promoter
Anti-adhesive/cohesive
Binder
Catalyst
Chelating agent
Cleaning agent
Defoamer
Degradant/impurity
Dehydrating agent (desiccant)
Diluent
Regulatory List Membership (5)
EU Regulated in Personal Care
EU Restricted for Children (Cosmetics)
IFRA Fragrance Transparency List
EPA Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL)
Consumer Product Chemical
Editorial summary
Preliminary editorial summary for Water — not a computed safety verdict. See the sourced toxicological data above.
Regulatory Flags
eu_children_restricted
epa_safer_alternative
ifra_fragrance
Known Synonyms
EC No.: 231-791-2
231-791-2
EINECS 231-791-2
Water, deionized
Water, mineral
Water vapor
Dihydrogen Monoxide
Sterile water
Water, sterile
Bacteriostatic water for injection in plastic container
Sterile water for injection in plastic container
Sterile water in plastic container
UNII-059QF0KO0R
Bacteriostatic water for injection
Sterile purified water
Sterile water for inhalation
Sterile water for injection
Sterile water for irrigation
Water for hemodialysis
Water for inhalation, sterile
Chemical Function
Solvent
Regulatory Lists
children; Europe; Personal care
children; Europe; Personal care - specialized bath products - bath salts
children; Europe; Personal care
children; Europe; Personal care - general moisturizing - hand/body lotion
children; Europe; Personal care - body hygiene - body wash
children; Europe; Personal care - hair styling and care - shampoo
children; Europe; Personal care - specialized bath products - bubble bath
children; Europe; Personal care - dental care - toothpaste
children; Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care - hair styling and care - shampoo-dandruff
Europe; Personal care - liniment
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care
Europe; Personal care - oral and dental care - teeth whitener
Australian Status
AICIS status: listed
Cross-Vertical Safety Context
Same-CAS public records found in pharmaceutical data.
SOURCE
ChEMBL / DrugCentral / FAERS
DB_PHARMA CAS match
Pharmaceutical Data
Same-CAS rows from the pharmaceutical spoke database.
Compound
WATER
ChEMBL ID
CHEMBL1098659
Max Phase
4
Adverse Event Associations
1859
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Water allowed in the EU?
Water EU regulatory status: permitted. This is based on EU Regulation 1223/2009 and its amendments.
What does Water do in cosmetics?
Water functions as: Solvent, vehicle/carrier. It is classified as a cosmetic ingredient in our database. CAS number: 7732-18-5.
Is Water used outside cosmetics?
Water also appears in industrial chemical safety and pharmaceutical data. The cross-vertical cards on this page render same-CAS public rows from the matched databases.
Compliance Tools
Check Water compliance across multiple jurisdictions:
Ingredient Decoder
Paste a full ingredient list for instant analysis
82 Allergen Checker
Check for EU declarable fragrance allergens
Substance Compliance
Check compliance across multiple jurisdictions
MoS Calculator
Calculate Margin of Safety using SCCS methodology
Heavy Metal Limits
Compare limits across jurisdictions
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