St
Steareth-30
Steareth-30
Helps a product cleanse and gives it body.
What it does
It’s stearyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol, joined to a long PEG chain, which lets it mix with both oil and water. The 30 is that chain’s average length. The EU lists it to cleanse and to help a product set into a gel.
The evidence, graded
expert consensusUS safety reviewers (2012) assessed the alkyl PEG ethers, which products use mostly to help oil and water mix, and some to condition skin or steady a mixture. Their conclusion names laureth-2, laureth-3, laureth-8, laureth-9, laureth-12, octyldodeceth-16, steareth-30 and steareth-100. Because some of these ethers could irritate skin, they judged them safe as used in products made not to irritate.Fiume 2012 · 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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