Po
Poloxamer 182
Poloxamer 182
A polymer used as a cleanser and to help oil and water mix.
What it does
It’s a poloxamer, a polymer built from two building blocks, one that holds onto water and one that holds onto oil. The EU lists it as a cleanser and an emulsifier, which helps oil and water mix.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as an emulsifier (helps oil and water mix) and a cleanser (helps keep skin clean).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2008) assessed 34 poloxamers, which products use mostly to cleanse, emulsify and dissolve other ingredients. Their large molecules should barely pass through skin, and skin tests on people found no irritation or allergy. They judged all 34 safe as used, poloxamers 124, 182 and 184 among them, with makers keeping ethylene oxide under 1 ppm and propylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane under 5 ppm.Singh-Joy 2008 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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