Body & Beauty / Compounds / Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator)

Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator) on your skin: a safety profile

Low risk

Not medical or professional safety advice, and not a substitute for a qualified clinician — consult one. Full disclaimer →

(People-specific data is limited; this page draws from human adult context.) Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator) poses low risk to adults under normal use conditions.

What is tetrasodium edta (na4edta / edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator)?

The IUPAC name is tetrasodium;2-[2-[bis(carboxylatomethyl)amino]ethyl-(carboxylatomethyl)amino]acetate.

Also known as: Sodium edetate, Edetate sodium, EDTA tetrasodium, EDTA sodium.

IUPAC name
tetrasodium;2-[2-[bis(carboxylatomethyl)amino]ethyl-(carboxylatomethyl)amino]acetate
CAS number
64-02-8
Molecular formula
C10H12N2Na4O8
Molecular weight
380.17 g/mol
SMILES
C(CN(CC(=O)[O-])CC(=O)[O-])N(CC(=O)[O-])CC(=O)[O-].[Na+].[Na+].[Na+].[Na+]
PubChem CID
6144

Risk for people

Low risk

Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator) poses low risk to adults under normal use conditions.

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator). The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EU—Permitted in cosmetics; no specific restriction
ECHA—H318 serious eye damage; H302 harmful if swallowed

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter tetrasodium edta (na4edta / edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator)

  • Personal Care — shampoo, conditioner, body wash, facial cleanser, liquid hand soap
  • Cleaning Products — all-purpose cleaners, bathroom cleaners, laundry detergent
  • Cosmetics — foundation, mascara, eye cream, moisturizer
  • Industrial — CIP cleaning solutions, metal surface treatment

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator):

  • GLDA
    Trade-offs: Alternative chelating agent; stability constants for target metal ions differ; biodegradability varies (EDTA poorly biodegradable, citrate fully biodegradable); downstream water treatment impact should be assessed.
  • Sodium phytate
    Trade-offs: Consumer preference for 'natural' label; many natural fragrance compounds are potent allergens (limonene, linalool, eugenol); 'natural' ≠ 'safe'; often more expensive than synthetic equivalents.

Frequently asked questions

What products contain tetrasodium edta (na4edta / edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator)?

Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator) appears in: shampoo (personal care); conditioner (personal care); all-purpose cleaners (cleaning products); bathroom cleaners (cleaning products); foundation (cosmetics).

See Tetrasodium EDTA (Na4EDTA / Edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator) in the body app

Look up products containing tetrasodium edta (na4edta / edetate sodium / cosmetic chelator), compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

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Sources (1)
  1. — expert_curation

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →