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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES LEARN MORE ABOUT EWG VERIFIED®
Product score: 03

Data Availability:

Fair

As I Am Smoothing Hair Gel

As I Am Smoothing Hair Gel

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CATEGORY

Styling Gel/Lotion

BRAND

As I Am

DATA LAST UPDATED

September 2023

Ingredient concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • HIGH
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient scores

Ingredients are scored based on their formulation and concentration in this product. Click on an ingredient for more information.

Ingredient score: 01
WATER
Appeared as: AQUA/WATER/EAU
Data Availability: Robust
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FUNCTION(S) solvent
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
BETAINE
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) hair conditioning agent, humectant, skin-conditioning agent - humectant, antistatic, hair conditioning, skin conditioning, viscosity controlling
CONCERNS • Multiple, additive exposure sources (low)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 02
GLYCERIN
Data Availability: Good
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FUNCTION(S) denaturant, fragrance ingredient, hair conditioning agent, humectant, oral care agent;oral health care drug, skin-conditioning agent - humectant, skin protectant, viscosity decreasing agent, perfuming, solvent
CONCERNS • Use restrictions (moderate)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 03
ALCOHOL ETHOXYLATES (C12)
Appeared as: LAURETH-23
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) surfactant - cleansing agent, surfactant - solubilizing agent, cleansing
CONCERNS • Use restrictions (low)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)
• Contamination concerns (ETHYLENE OXIDE and 1,4-DIOXANE)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 06
TRIETHANOLAMINE
Data Availability: Good
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FUNCTION(S) fragrance ingredient, ph adjuster, surfactant - emulsifying agent, buffering, emulsifying, masking, surfactant
CONCERNS • Allergies/immunotoxicity (moderate)
• Use restrictions (high)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Contamination concerns (NITROSAMINES)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
ALOE BARBADENSIS (ALOE VERA) LEAF EXTRACT
Appeared as: ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) external analgesic, humectant, oral care agent, skin-conditioning agent - emollient;skin-conditioning agent - miscellaneous
CONCERNS • Cancer (moderate)
• Developmental/reproductive toxicity (low)
• Use restrictions (low)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
CARBOMER
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) emulsion stabilizer, viscosity increasing agent - aqueous, emulsion stabilising, gel forming, viscosity controlling
CONCERNS • Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (low)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
BETA VULGARIS (COMMON BEET) ROOT EXTRACT
Appeared as: BETA VULGARIS (BEET) ROOT EXTRACT
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) skin-conditioning agent - miscellaneous, skin conditioning
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 04
HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) film former, hair conditioning agent, skin-conditioning agent - miscellaneous, antistatic, hair conditioning, skin conditioning
CONCERNS • Allergies/immunotoxicity (low)
• Use restrictions (high)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 02
POTASSIUM SORBATE
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) fragrance ingredient, preservative
CONCERNS • Allergies/immunotoxicity (moderate)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 04
PHENOXYETHANOL
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) fragrance ingredient, preservative
CONCERNS • Allergies/immunotoxicity (low)
• Use restrictions (moderate)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (high)
• Occupational hazards (high)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
CAPRYLYL GLYCOL
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) hair conditioning agent, skin-conditioning agent - emollient, emollient, hair conditioning, humectant, skin conditioning
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 03
SODIUM BENZOATE
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) fragrance ingredient, preservative, anticorrosive, masking
CONCERNS • Use restrictions (moderate)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 02
CITRIC ACID
Data Availability: Good
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FUNCTION(S) chelating agent, fragrance ingredient, ph adjuster, buffering, chelating, masking
CONCERNS • Use restrictions (moderate)
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Ingredient score: 01
ERYTHORBIC ACID
Data Availability: Limited
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FUNCTION(S) antioxidant, fragrance ingredient
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT
Ingredient score: 01
FRAGRANCE
Appeared as: FRAGRANCE/PARFUM
Data Availability: Fair
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FUNCTION(S) deodorant, masking, perfuming
CONCERNS • Allergies/immunotoxicity (high)
• Endocrine disruption (moderate)
• Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)
• Ecotoxicology (low)
• Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs) (moderate)
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INGREDIENT

Ingredients from packaging:

AQUA/WATER/EAU, BETAINE, GLYCERIN, LAURETH-23, TRIETHANOLAMINE, ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF EXTRACT, CARBOMER, BETA VULGARIS (BEET) ROOT EXTRACT, HYDROLYZED WHEAT PROTEIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, PHENOXYETHANOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, SODIUM BENZOATE, CITRIC ACID, ERYTHORBIC ACID FRAGRANCE/PARFUM, ANISE ALCOHOL, COUMARIN, LIMONENE

Product's animal testing policies

Some cosmetics companies have taken People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Leaping Bunny animal-testing pledges. For consumers who are concerned about companies’ policies on animal testing, Skin Deep reports this information.


Leaping Bunny

Products bearing the Leaping Bunny mark are certified cruelty-free under the Humane Household Products Standard, managed in the U.S. and Canada by the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, a coalition of eight national animal protection groups. Participating companies must open their processes to independent audits throughout the supply chain.

LEARN MORE ON LEAPINGBUNNY.ORG

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

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