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Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate

Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate

A helper that keeps oil and water mixed so a formula stays smooth and stable.

What it does

It’s made by joining a short chain of three glycerin units to lauric acid, a fatty acid. It’s there to hold the formula together, not to change your skin.

The evidence, graded

expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2023) assessed 274 polyglyceryl esters, mostly used to condition skin or help oil and water mix. Their conclusion names polyglyceryl-2, -3 and -4 laurate, -3 caprate, -6 dicaprate, -10 caprylate, -10 dipalmitate and diisostearoyl polyglyceryl-3 dimer dilinoleate. They judged all 274 safe as used in products made not to irritate, and asked for care, since some help other ingredients into skin. In one case, a woman reacted in patch tests to polyglyceryl-10, -4 and -6 laurate.Fiume 2023 · 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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