Most of us handle dozens of receipts every week without a second thought. Here is what the research says about what is in them — and what a simple habit change can do.

It is one of the most ordinary moments of everyday life.

You pay for something. Someone hands you a receipt. You fold it, tuck it into your bag, or hold it for a moment while you gather your things.

It takes seconds. It happens dozens of times a week. And most of us have never thought about what that small slip of paper might be transferring to our skin.

What Thermal Paper Actually Is

Most receipts — from supermarkets, cafés, pharmacies, petrol stations — are printed on thermal paper. Unlike regular paper, thermal paper doesn’t use ink in the conventional sense. Instead, it is coated with a chemical developer that reacts to heat, producing the printed text you see.

The most widely used developer has historically been bisphenol A — BPA.

You may already know BPA from conversations about plastic bottles and food containers. It is one of the most studied endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the world — a compound that mimics oestrogen in the body and has been linked to hormonal disruption, reproductive health concerns, and other adverse effects.

What is less widely known is that BPA is present in thermal paper receipts in surprisingly high concentrations — and that it can be absorbed directly through the skin.

What the Research Shows

BPA is found in most thermal paper receipts in significant amounts. A 2024 study published in Environmental Science: Advances analyzed thermal paper receipts from various commercial settings and found that BPA and its structural analogue bisphenol S (BPS) were detected in 99% and 100% of samples respectively. BPA concentrations ranged widely, with some samples containing over 1,000 micrograms per gram of paper.

BPA transfers to the skin on contact. A study published in Chemosphere measured exactly how much BPA transfers when a person holds a thermal receipt. When holding a receipt for just five seconds with dry skin, approximately 1 microgram of BPA transferred to the fingers. With wet or greasy skin — as might occur after using hand sanitizer or applying hand cream — the transfer was roughly ten times higher.

Hand sanitizer dramatically increases absorption. A study published in PLOS ONE found that using hand sanitizer before handling thermal receipt paper significantly increased the amount of BPA that entered the bloodstream. Many hand sanitizers contain penetration-enhancing chemicals that increase the skin’s permeability to lipophilic compounds like BPA — meaning the combination of hand sanitizer and receipt paper represents a particularly high route of exposure.

Cashiers and retail workers are particularly exposed. People who handle receipts as part of their work — cashiers, pharmacists, shop assistants — are exposed to significantly higher levels of BPA than the general public. Studies have consistently found elevated BPA levels in the urine of people who handle thermal paper regularly as part of their job.

The BPA Replacement Problem

In response to growing concern about BPA, many manufacturers have switched to alternatives — most commonly bisphenol S (BPS) and other bisphenol analogues.

The problem is that these alternatives appear to have similar hormonal activity to BPA. BPS, in particular, has been shown to have oestrogenic activity and has been found in human tissue in multiple studies. Replacing BPA with BPS does not solve the underlying problem — it simply substitutes one endocrine-disrupting bisphenol for another.

Receipts marketed as “BPA-free” are not necessarily safe. They are simply BPA-free — not bisphenol-free, and not necessarily chemical-free.

A Note on Regulation

The European Union has taken significant steps on this issue. BPA in thermal paper has been restricted in the EU to a maximum of 0.02% — effectively banning its use in most applications. However, this regulation does not apply globally, and BPS and other alternatives remain largely unregulated.

In countries outside the EU, BPA may still be present in receipts at concentrations well above European limits.

What You Can Actually Do

This is not a reason for alarm. But it is worth knowing — and worth acting on in simple, practical ways.

Request digital receipts where possible. Many retailers now offer email or app-based receipts. Choosing this option eliminates the exposure entirely.

Hold receipts by the edges, printed side down. The chemical coating is primarily on the printed side. Holding a receipt from the unprinted edge reduces skin contact with the coating.

Wash your hands after handling receipts: particularly before eating. This removes BPA from the skin before it has time to be absorbed.

Avoid handling receipts after using hand sanitizer. The combination significantly increases absorption. If you have just used hand sanitizer, wait until it has fully dried before handling paper receipts or request a digital receipt instead.

If you work with receipts regularly, these habits become more important. Consider requesting that your employer investigate BPA-free or bisphenol-free thermal paper alternatives, which do exist.

A Broader Perspective

The receipt is a small thing. In the context of total chemical exposure, it is one source among many.

But it is also an easy one to reduce — and that is precisely the point. Lower-tox living is not about eliminating every possible source of exposure. It is about making small, informed choices that cumulatively reduce the overall load.

Choosing a digital receipt takes two seconds. Washing your hands before eating takes thirty. These are not difficult changes.

They are simply changes that are easier to make once you know why they matter.

If this resonated with you, you might also enjoy reading what are endocrine disruptors — and why the science demands our attention or how to read ingredient labels on everyday products.
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Research references used in this post:

• Environmental Science: Advances (2025). BPA and its analogues in thermal papers: an assessment of presence and dermal exposure. RSC Publishing.
• Biedermann et al. (2010). Transfer of bisphenol A from thermal printer paper to the skin. Chemosphere.
• Hormann et al. (2014). Holding Thermal Receipt Paper and Eating Food after Using Hand Sanitizer Results in High Serum Bioactive and Urine Total Levels of Bisphenol A. PLOS ONE.
• Reale et al. (2021). Skin Absorption of Bisphenol A and Its Alternatives in Thermal Paper. PubMed.