Ar
Arachidic Acid
Arachidic AcidBarrier
A saturated fatty acid that adds body and a creamy, opaque look.
What it does
It’s a saturated fatty acid with a long 20-carbon chain, solid and waxy at room temperature. It firms up creams, makes them look opaque, and helps oil and water blend.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2019) assessed 102 fatty acids and their salts, which products use mostly to stop caking, steady mixtures or thicken. Behenic, arachidic and isostearic acid and magnesium stearate are in their conclusion. Behenic acid is used at up to 14% in lipstick, magnesium stearate at up to 7.2% in face powders. Some of these can irritate skin, and the less stable fatty acids can break down into compounds that cause allergy. So products must be made not to irritate or cause allergy.Burnett 2019 · Cosmetic Ingredient Review ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
eicosanoic acid
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