Does Kiehl's Use Microplastics?
The short answer
Nearly every Kiehl's product we could analyse listed at least one flagged synthetic polymer. Of the 8 Kiehl's products on Open Beauty Facts with a readable ingredient list, 7 listed at least one flagged synthetic polymer — 88%. The one that came up most was PEG (Polyethylene Glycol), in 6 of them.
8
analysed
7
with a flag
88%
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What this is. Ingredient-label data from Open Beauty Facts (snapshot 2026-07-31), not laboratory testing. Coverage is crowdsourced, partial and Europe-weighted, so this is 8 of the 28 Kiehl's entries in that database, and US formulations often differ. A flagged ingredient is not automatically harmful — a gel thickener and a solid microbead are both synthetic polymers and are not the same risk.
What comes up most in Kiehl's ingredient lists
| Ingredient | Products | Why it's flagged |
|---|---|---|
| PEG (Polyethylene Glycol) | 6 of 8 | PEG / glycol |
| Carbomer | 4 of 8 | Acrylate / vinyl polymer |
| Cyclomethicone / Cyclopentasiloxane | 3 of 8 | Silicone |
| Acrylates Crosspolymer | 3 of 8 | Acrylate / vinyl polymer |
| BHT / BHA | 2 of 8 | Plasticiser / chemical of concern |
| Dimethicone | 2 of 8 | Silicone |
| Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer | 1 of 8 | Acrylate / vinyl polymer |
| Parabens | 1 of 8 | Plasticiser / chemical of concern |
Example products
Real entries from Open Beauty Facts, showing what the label lists.
Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream
5 flagged ingredients
Ultra facial cream
5 flagged ingredients
Ultra facial cream
5 flagged ingredients
Product images from Open Beauty Facts contributors, licensed CC BY-SA. Ingredient data under ODbL.
Check your actual Kiehl's product
Brand averages hide a lot — formulations differ by product and by market. Paste your label into the free ingredient checker, or scan the bottle in the app for a 0–100 score that also weighs the packaging.
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