Et
Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate
Ethylhexyl HydroxystearateBarrier
An ester of hydroxystearic acid, used as a skin softener.
What it does
It’s an ester of hydroxystearic acid, a fatty acid. The EU lists it as a skin softener.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as an emollient (gives skin a soft, smooth look).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2015) looked at 237 similar esters and judged them safe as cosmetics use them, provided the product is made not to irritate. Where an ester had no data, they used data on similar ones in the group. Their list names ethylhexyl olivate, ethylhexyl hydroxystearate and C20–40 alkyl stearate, and their index lists cetearyl olivate under that report.Fiume 2015 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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