ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE

Name / description

Isopropyl Myristate; Myristic Acid, Isopropyl Ester

---

Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

BINDING

Ensures the cohesion of powdered products

FRAGRANCE

Enhances the smell of a product and / or perfumes the skin

PERFUMING

Part of perfume oils and / or flavours

SKIN CONDITIONING - EMOLLIENT

Softens and smoothens the skin

---

Origin

synthetic

---

Occurrence in cosmetics

Decorative cosmetics (as dispersing agents for pigments), various perfumed and / or oily cosmetics (solubilisers of perfume oil in mineral oil and / or as refattening agents)

---

Occurrence in other products

Fatty medicinal products and medical devices; butter, coconut and palm kernel oil; cooling lubricants and technical fats

---

Background information on use in cosmetics

Isopropyl myristate has a thin, oily consistency and can be clearly mixed with vegetable oils and paraffins. It reduces the viscosity of vegetable oils, increases the ability to penetrate the skin and enhances the sliding capacity without leaving a sticky feeling. Due to its stability the ester is used for partial or full replacement of vegetable oils in cosmetic preparations. Fragrances or mixtures of fragrances are often referred to in the cosmetics area as "perfuming agents" or "perfume oils" or "parfum oils". On the cosmetic products they are declared with the INCI name "PARFUM". These are undiluted individual substances or their mixtures which originate from natural raw materials or can be produced (semi-) synthetically. They are starting materials for the production of perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and other perfumed cosmetic products. The average content of fragrances amounts in perfume to 15-30 %, in eau de parfum to 10-14 %, in eau de toilette to 6-9 %, in eau de cologne to 3-5 % as well as in skin creams, shampoos, hair and deodorant sprays to approximately 0.2-1 % and approximately 1-3 in deodorant sticks. The perfume oils include essential oils, resinoids and absolutes. The sources are, amongst others, flowers, leaves and stems, fruits and fruit peels or roots of plants; woods, grasses or herbs, needles, resins and balsams. Moreover, only compounds isolated from natural products such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols etc. are used (geraniol, citronellal, citral, eugenol, menthol) as well as semi-synthetic (citronellol, geranyl acetate, jonone) and synthetic scents (eg phenylethyl alcohol and linalool) are used. Scents of animal origin such as musk and ambra are only rarely used.

---

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.

---

Belongs to the following substance groups

---

Regulating cosmetics

Cosmetics Ingredients are subject to regulation. Please note, different regulations may apply to cosmetic ingredients outside the EU.