Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)

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Overview

What Is It?

Teflon® is a brand name for a man-made chemical known as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), which belongs to a subset of a larger class of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs). Because Teflon is extremely stable (it doesn’t react with other chemicals) and can provide an almost frictionless surface, it has been utilized in a variety of commercial applications since the 1940s. While people are most familiar with its property as a non-stick coating surface for pans and other cookware, it is also used in many other products, including cosmetics to improve product feel and fabric protectors to provide stain resistance.

Teflon is not, however, the same compound as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), another man-made chemical that has received a lot of attention related to possible health risks. Health concerns arise because PFOA can remain in the environment, and in the human body, for long periods of time; studies have found it present at very low levels (sub-parts-per-billion (ppb)) in nearly everyone’s blood, worldwide. In the past, PFOA was used in the process of making Teflon and similar chemicals, although it was burned off during production and was not present in significant amounts in final products. Today, however, manufacturing processes have changed and PFOA is no longer used.

While the possible long-term health effects of PFOA are not entirely known, the issue has been under study by the U.S. Environmental Agency (EPA) and other agencies since the late 1990s. In 2006, the EPA and the eight manufacturers who used PFOA at the time agreed to a “stewardship program,” with the goal of eliminating PFOA completely from factory emissions and product contents by the end of 2015. According to the EPA’s February 2017 Final Progress Report, all companies have met the PFOA Stewardship Program goals, and the manufacture and import of all PFOA has been phased out in the United States.

Why is it used in cosmetics and personal care products?

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE; Teflon) is an ingredient used to improve the cosmetic feel of some products that are applied to the skin. PTFE appears on the label of any product that contains it.

Safety

Safety Information:

CIR

At its March 2018 meeting, the U.S. Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel began its review of polyfluorinated substances. For more information on the progress, visit their website.

EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated clearly that consumer products made with fluoropolymers and fluorinated telomers, including Teflon® and other trademark products, are not PFOA. Rather, some of them may have (in the past) contained trace amounts of PFOA and other related PFASs as impurities. The information available to the EPA does not indicate that the routine use of consumer products containing PFASs (like Teflon) poses a health concern.

European Union

PTFE may be used as a cosmetic ingredient without restrictions under the cosmetic regulations of the EU.

More safety Information:

Cancer Allegations

Some news reports and websites allege that Teflon in cosmetic and personal care products is dangerous and could cause cancer. This claim, however, is not accurate. As stated on the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) website, Teflon itself is not suspected of causing cancer. ACS does point out that some studies in recent years have looked at the possibility of PFOA causing cancer (note: PFOA was formerly present as a trace level residual material in Teflon; however, Teflon in current use does not contain any residual PFOA). Studies in lab animals have found exposure to very large doses of PFOA increased the risk of certain tumors. Studies of humans exposed to PFOA by living near or working in chemical plants utilizing it have also suggested an increased risk of certain types of cancer, but the increased risks have been small and could be the result of other factors.

What do regulatory agencies say about this? The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has classified PFOA as “possibly carcinogenic to humans” (Group 2B), based on limited evidence in humans that it can cause cancer and limited evidence in lab animals. The U.S. EPA has not officially classified PFOA as to its carcinogenicity. In a review of EPA’s draft risk assessment, the EPA’s Scientific Advisory Board examined the evidence on PFOA, mainly from studies in lab animals, and stated that there is “suggestive evidence of carcinogenicity, but not sufficient to assess human carcinogenic potential.”

What About PFOA Alternatives?

According to the U.S. EPA, the manufacture and import of PFOA has been phased out in the United States as part of the PFOA Stewardship program (discussed in the Overview tab above). In order to meet the PFOA stewardship program goals, most companies transitioned from manufacture and import of long-chain PFASs – like PFOA – to alternative materials. Other companies exited the PFASs industry altogether. How do we know the alternatives to PFOA are safe? Contrary to what some websites and news stories allege, the safety of PFAS replacement materials is carefully evaluated. The U.S. EPA’s New Chemicals Program (NCP) reviews each alternative to PFOA and related chemicals before they enter the marketplace. EPA identifies whether toxicity, fate, and bioaccumulation issues, which have been causes for concern with perfluorinated substances in the past, may be present in the new substances in order to ensure the chemicals will not present an unreasonable risk to health or the environment.

Resources

Resources:

U.S. EPA: Basic Information about Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs)
American Cancer Society (ACS): Teflon and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR): Safety Assessment of Fluoropolymers as Used in Cosmetics
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC): Perfluorooctanoic Acid

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Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)

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