What is Cetearyl Alcohol?

Cetearyl Alcohol is not a single substance but a blend of two fatty alcohols: Cetyl Alcohol (C16) and Stearyl Alcohol (C18). This combination makes it the most versatile base ingredient of the three. You get the lightness and slip of C16 together with the firmness and stability of C18.

In a formula, it works as a co-emulsifier, thickener and emollient. It helps keep oil and water together so your product doesn't separate, gives creams and lotions a full creamy texture without stickiness, and forms a protective layer on the skin that helps retain moisture. That's why you'll find it in virtually every cream, lotion, body butter and conditioner.

Our Cetearyl Alcohol is plant-based, vegan and RSPO Mass Balance certified. Fatty alcohols with these chain lengths come from the palm chain. We therefore consciously purchase RSPO-certified products, and explain further down what that means.

Not to be confused with regular alcohol

Despite its name, a fatty alcohol has nothing in common with the alcohol found in disinfectants or perfume. Ethanol is volatile, drying and irritating. Fatty alcohols are solid, waxy substances that plants use to protect themselves from dehydration. On the skin, they work exactly the same way: softening and moisture-retaining instead of drying.

What are the benefits of Cetearyl Alcohol?

Thickens and stabilizes formulas
Cetearyl Alcohol provides a creamy, full texture in creams, lotions and conditioners. It makes products firmer without making them feel sticky or heavy, and prevents formulas from separating.

Supports the emulsion
By keeping oil and water together, Cetearyl Alcohol helps keep your emulsion stable. This provides consistent quality, batch after batch.

Hydrates and softens the skin
It forms a protective layer that helps retain moisture and prevents dehydration. Ideal for dry and sensitive skin types.

Smooths and detangles hair
In conditioners, Cetearyl Alcohol softens the hair shaft, making hair less frizzy and easier to comb. It provides a soft, smooth finish.

Mild and skin-friendly
Unlike drying alcohols, Cetearyl Alcohol is non-irritating and suitable for sensitive skin.

The most versatile choice
Because you get the properties of two chain lengths in one ingredient, Cetearyl Alcohol is often the simplest choice if you're still experimenting.

How do you use Cetearyl Alcohol?

Add to the oil phase. Completely melt Cetearyl Alcohol at 60 to 70°C in the fatty phase, then mix with the water phase at equal temperature.

Recommended dosage: 2 to 5%. For a light lotion you'll be around 2%, for a rich cream or body butter towards 5%. In conditioners and hair masks, 2 to 4% works nicely.

Always combine with a primary emulsifier such as Olivem 1000 or Vegetal / Montanov 68. Cetearyl Alcohol is a co-emulsifier and structure builder, not a standalone emulsifier.

Tip: Let your emulsion cool down slowly. Cooling too quickly can cause graininess or white specks. Cetearyl Alcohol combines well with plant oils, butters and waxes.

What makes Cetearyl Alcohol so special?

Two chain lengths in one ingredient
Because C16 and C18 exist side by side in the blend, they crystallize slightly differently than each on their own. This gives a finer, smoother crystal structure and thus a creamier end result. It's not for nothing that it's the most widely used structure-building ingredient in cosmetics.

Transparent about sourcing
On an INCI list, you never see where a fatty alcohol comes from. Cetearyl Alcohol is always called Cetearyl Alcohol, whether the source is palm, coconut or petrochemical. We think you should know that. Our Cetearyl Alcohol comes from the palm chain and is RSPO Mass Balance certified. Mass Balance means that certified sustainable and non-certified palm can be mixed in the supply chain, but no more certified material may be sold than is actually sustainably produced. Cetearyl Alcohol from a non-palm source barely exists, so for this ingredient RSPO is the most responsible route that is actually available.

The difference with the individual fatty alcohols
If you want more control over your texture, you can also work with the individual components. Cetyl Alcohol (C16) gives a lighter, more slippery feel and Stearyl Alcohol (C18) gives a firmer, more waxy result. By determining the ratio yourself, you control your final texture more precisely.