- What it can be used for
- Boosts foam, cleans, keeps oil and water mixed, mixes oil and water, and thickens or thins (the functions the EU ingredient database, CosIng, lists for it; a product may use it for any of them)
- CAS number
- 68603-42-9
Why it’s flagged
Classified as a possible or suspected human carcinogen.
- IARC Group 2B (possibly carcinogenic to humans). Source: IARC Monographs list of classifications
IARC Group 2B means possibly carcinogenic to humans. EU Carc. 2 means suspected human carcinogen. These describe a hazard, not the risk at the amount in one product.
What the research says
- DEA and its condensates (cocamide DEA, lauramide DEA) are not banned from cosmetics, but US Cosmetic Ingredient Review guidance says they should not be combined with nitrite or other nitrosating agents in a formulation, because that reaction can form N-nitrosodiethanolamine (NDELA), an animal carcinogen that is not itself listed on any ingredient label. Moderate evidence. Kraeling 2004
Each finding shows its evidence grade. See every graded fact or how we grade.
What this page can’t tell you
These lists describe what a substance can do, its hazard. The risk from one product depends on how much is in it and how you use it, and the label doesn’t say how much.
Not being on a list doesn’t make an ingredient safe. It may never have been assessed.
Check your products
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“Products that list it” opens Open Beauty Facts, a free database anyone can edit.
Flagged the same way
Official lists checked September 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.