Ethanolamine

Guess What Is In Your Mascara? Ethanolamine!!

Hijazi,N.(Photographer). Mascara and Eyeshadow Palette(Photograph) Calgary,Canada

What do your cosmetic products contain? Well, most cosmetic products contain Ethanolamine also known as MEA (monoethanolamine), 2-amino ethanol, glycinol, 2-hydroxyethanolamine and widely seen as cocomide MEA͑.(1) 

What is Ethanolamine?

Ethanolamine is an organic compound that contains both a primary amine and a primary alcohol. It is a clear colourless liquid and a white fine powder-like solid.(2) It is easy to add into products not affecting the appearance of it, but it does have a faint ammonia-like smell that can be easily masked off using fragrances.(2) It is found in many household and cosmetic products like soap, shampoo,paraffin and waxes, household cleaning products, and cosmetics (mascara, nail polish, lipsticks, sunscreen).(3) Ethanolamine is used to control the pH in products.(8)

 Ethanolamines are produced industrially by reacting ethylene oxide and ammonia. Ethanolamine can be easily produced but it is slow reaction that involves water and it is heated at 150℃. Ethanolamine synthesis is an exothermic reaction.(4) Ethanolamine can be absorbed into the body through inhalation, ingestion, skin and eye contact. If made contact with the eye and skin it may cause redness and severe burns. If inhaled it will cause severe coughs, a headache, shortness of breath, and a sore throat. If ingested it will cause abdominal pain, shock and collapsing attacking the respiratory system and central nervous system.(5) Etanolamine has a lethal dose of 3.32 g/kg. It has an acute exposure where deaths typically occurred around 4 days of an an oral dose of 2.74 g/kg.(6)

Ethanolamine is not carcinogenic, however, the nitrate byproduct leftover from the breakdown of preservatives in the formulation of ethanolamine can create a carcinogenic product called nitrosamines.(7)This is why you might see Ethanolamine listed as a toxic product to avoid or  labelled as carcinogenic. This may seen like a huge safety concern, but  ethanolamine is safe. The only possible alternative to not having ethanolamine is to use natural products that contain “non-toxic” ingredients.

References:

1PubChem. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ethanolamine#section=Top
2NIOSH. NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2010-168 (2010). Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg (accessed November 29, 2018)(accessed November 29, 2018)
3(2018)Ethanoamine. Wikipedia:The free encyclopedia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanolamine (accessed November 29.2018)
4Frauenkron.M.,et al.(2012).Ethanolamines and Propanolamines.Ullmann’s Encyclopedia of IndustrialChemistry.http://www.ugr.es/~tep028/pqi/descargas/Industria%20quimica%20organica/tema_5/etanolaminas_propanolaminas_a10_001.pdf (accessed November 29, 2018)
5ILO-ICSC.(2017)ETHANOLAMINE. http://www.ilo.org/dyn/icsc/showcard.display?p_version=2&p_card_id=0152 (accessed November 29, 2018)

6Campaign for Safe Cosmetics ETHANOLAMINE COMPOUNDS (MEA, DEA, TEA AND OTHERS) (accessed November 29, 2018)

7Jessop.P.G., et al.(2015).opportunities for greener alternatives in chemical formulations.Royal society of chemistry. https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2015/gc/c4gc02261k (accessed November 29, 2018)

8N/A.(2016)Ethanolamine.Cosmetics info.https://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/ethanolamine (accessed November 29, 2018)