Po
Polysorbate 80
Polysorbate 80
A mixing helper that dissolves small amounts of oil or fragrance into clear, water-based formulas.
What it does
Made from sorbitol and oleic acid, it mixes well with water. It dissolves small amounts of oil, fragrance and other oily ingredients into clear water-based products and helps build light lotions.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2015) assessed 80 polysorbates, which products use mostly as surfactants, helping oil and water mix. Polysorbate 20, 60 and 80 and sorbeth-30 tetraoleate are named in their conclusion. They judged the polysorbates safe as used, in products made not to irritate, replacing their earlier verdicts.Becker 2015 · Cosmetic Ingredient Review ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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