active
Cetearyl Alcohol
Fatty alcohol blend essential in conditioning haircare emulsions. Provides emulsification, conditioning, and opacifying function simultaneously.
Benefits
- Emulsification — stabilises W/O and O/W emulsions
- Conditioning — reduces hair cuticle friction
- Opacifying agent in shampoos and conditioners
- Emollient skin feel
- Thickens and stabilises emulsions
Example uses
- Conditioning shampoos
- Hair masks
- Rinse-out conditioners
- Body moisturisers
- Purple shampoo formulas
Mechanism of action
Fatty alcohol blend deposits emollient lipid film on hair cuticle and skin. Functions as co-emulsifier by lowering interfacial tension. In haircare, BTAB complex forms lamellar liquid crystal structure depositing preferentially on damaged hair.
Clinical evidence · High
Extensively characterised. SCCS assessment confirms safety.
Effective concentration range
2–6% in hair conditioners; 1–5% in emulsions
Formulation notes
Melts into oil phase (mp ~52°C). Compatible with both anionic and cationic surfactants when properly incorporated.
Watchouts
Generally well-tolerated. Occasional sensitisation. The 'alcohol' name causes consumer confusion — fatty alcohols do not share the drying profile of ethanol.
Controversies & overclaims
The 'alcohol' naming causes widespread clean-beauty consumer confusion despite a completely different mechanism and safety profile versus drying alcohols.
Market positioning
Sold as emulsifying/conditioning ingredient. Consumer confusion about the alcohol name persists in clean-beauty discourse.
Comedogenicity
0 / 5
Sensitisation risk
Low
INCI & aliases
Cetearyl Alcohol
cetostearyl alcohol · 1-hexadecanol + 1-octadecanol blend
Clean beauty perception
Generally accepted in clean beauty. The 'alcohol' name causes confusion leading some clean brands to avoid it unnecessarily.
Graph relationships
Timeline