Ingredient profile
TRIETHANOLAMINE / TRIETANOLAMINA
Raters disagreeCAS 102-71-6
At least one of our safety lists speaks to this ingredient.
Raters don't agree. Here's where each one stands
Safe
Greenlens Ingredient Scan
Independent
Greenlens Precautionary Screen
Independent
Greenlens Tolerance Screen
Independent
Caution
—
Concern
ANSES Endocrine Disruptors
Government
Where each list lands
Funding shown- Concern
ANSES Endocrine Disruptors
Government
An ANSES endocrine-disruptor candidate (SNPE2); a common pH-adjuster/emulsifier carrying a Repr. 2 classification. (ANSES — French national strategy on endocrine disruptors (SNPE2))
- Safe
Greenlens Ingredient Scan
Independent
No EU-regulated hazard recognized for this ingredient.
- Safe
Greenlens Precautionary Screen
Also screened — not on these lists
- Health Canada Ingredient Hotlist
- California Proposition 65
- US NTP Report on Carcinogens
- IARC Monographs
- EU Microplastics Restriction
- EU Harmonised Classification (CLP Annex VI)
Where regulators stand
Shown side by side, never combinedEach jurisdiction is reported on its own terms, from its own official lists. Where they disagree, that disagreement is the finding. Absence from a list is never a safety claim.
European Union
RestrictedAllowed only under stated conditions or limits.
- European Commission · EU Cosmetics Regulation Annex III (restricted)Listed in Annex III of the EU Cosmetics Regulation (ref 62) — allowed only under restrictions (max (a) 2.5%).
Canada
No listing foundNot on the lists we hold for this jurisdiction. That is an absence of a listing, not a safety finding.
Checked: Health Canada Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist.
California
No listing foundNot on the lists we hold for this jurisdiction. That is an absence of a listing, not a safety finding.
Exposure context
Context, not a clearance
Triethanolamine is a small molecule (~149 g/mol), but it is an ionizable, water-loving amine that stays largely charged at skin and formulation pH, so very little of it crosses the skin from a cosmetic: measured dermal absorption is roughly 0.4–2% of the applied dose (about 0.43% at pH 7 over 24 hours), and lower, more acidic pH reduces it further. This is exposure context, not a clearance — the endocrine / hazard trait still applies.
Notes
- ANSES CMR-listed
