CETEARYL ALCOHOL

Name / description

Cetearyl Alcohol (Mixture of Cetyl and Stearyl Alcohol)

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Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

EMULSION STABILISING

Supports emulsion formation and improves product stability

OPACIFYING

Reduces transparency and translucency by clouding the product

SKIN CONDITIONING - EMOLLIENT

Softens and smoothens the skin

SURFACTANT - CLEANSING

Surface-active agent to clean skin, hair and / or teeth

SURFACTANT - EMULSIFYING

Allows the formation of finely dispersed mixtures of oil and water (emulsions)

SURFACTANT - FOAM BOOSTING

Improves foam quality by increasing volume, structure and / or durability

VISCOSITY CONTROLLING

Increases or decreases the viscosity of cosmetic products

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Origin

animal/synthetic/plant

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Occurrence in cosmetics

Ointments, creams, lotions, gels

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Occurrence in other products

Medicinal products and medical devices to apply at the eye or for wound treatment, technical cooling lubricants, textiles, evaporation protection agents

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Background information on use in cosmetics

Cetearyl alcohol (cetylstearyl alcohol) is a mixture of cetyl alcohol (hexadecanol) and stearyl alcohol (octadecanol). This concerns so-called fatty alcohols since the two components are frequently produced by a reduction of the corresponding fatty acids. Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol can, however, also be obtained, eg by hydrolysis of waxes. Cetearyl alcohol is used in many cosmetic products since it increases the stability of emulsions. Cetearyl alcohol constitutes a solid white mass which also serves as a consistency enhancing component. On the skin it has a smoothing and non-oily effect. Cetearyl alcohol is solvent in alcohol, non-solvent in water, very well tolerated and readily biodegradable. Surfactants are so-called detergent substances and have a major significance in cosmetics for the cleansing of the skin and hair. Surfactants are substances which, based on their molecular structure, are able to reduce the surface tension of a liquid. In this way it is possible that two actually not mixable substances, such as oil and water, can be finely mixed. Because of their properties, surfactants have manifold uses in cosmetics: they can cleanse, produce foam and act as emulsifiers and mix substances with one another. In shampoos, shower gels and soaps, surfactants are, for instance, used to wash fat and soil particles with water off from the body. Surfactants are also used in toothpaste. Here they promote during tooth cleaning the rapid and full dissolution and distribution of the paste in the mouth. The surfactants used in cosmetic products are primarily produced synthetically on the basis of vegetable raw materials. Surfactants are often used in combination to equally meet all desired requirements – like dissolution of soil and formation of foam in combination with a good skin tolerance – in the best possible manner. Through a skilled combination of a surfactant – viewed on its own – with unfavourable skin tolerance but a very good soil removal property with a very mild, skin protecting surfactant altogether a product with good cleansing properties and the same good skin tolerances is obtained. Emulsifiers are often used in cosmetics as excipients. They allow actually unmixable components like oil and water to be brought in a permanently stable emulsion. In this way both aqueous and oily care and active ingredients can be used in one and the same product in cosmetics. Emulsifiers are able to do that since their molecules consist of a lipophilic and a hydrophilic part. In this way they can reduce the interfacial tension which actually exists between two incompatible substances like fat and water. Emulsifiers are, more particularly, used for creams, lotions and cleansing agents. At present emulsifiers are, however, more than only excipients which keep an emulsion stable. Fatty acid esters on the basis of sugar, lecithin or glycerin monodistearate contribute, for instance, to improving the moisture balance of the skin and are, therefore, also considered as cosmetic active ingredients.

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Further information

For the clarification of a suspicion of a contact allergy this substance can be routinely tested in the epicutaneous test at the dermatologist.

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Belongs to the following substance groups