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Sorbitan Palmitate
Sorbitan Palmitate
A helper that keeps oil and water blended so a product stays smooth.
What it does
It’s made from sorbitol, a sugar alcohol, and palmitic acid, a fatty acid. It’s there to hold the formula together, not to change your skin.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2019) judged 20 sorbitan esters, most used to help oil and water mix, safe as used. Their index lists this one under that report. Their 2002 report on sorbitan isostearate and nine related esters found it moderately irritating in one rabbit test. In people, sorbitan esters were generally at most mildly irritating, and allergy was rare (sorbitan sesquioleate caused it in under 1% of patients with suspected skin allergy).Lanigan 2002 · International Journal of Toxicology ↗
Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Browse all 809 ingredients — grouped by what they do, each with whatever evidence we can cite.
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