The Beauty & Personal Care Brand Builder Series

Ingredient Deep Dive

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

The Beauty & Personal Care Brand Builder Series

Ingredient Deep Dive

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

The Light, Stable Emollient

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is a light, silky emollient and solvent known for a dry, non-greasy skin feel and excellent stability.

It softens and smooths, spreads effortlessly, dissolves oil-soluble ingredients and pigments, and resists oxidation for long shelf life.

Quick Insights

Ingredient Rating:

GOOD

Type of Ingredient:

Emollient and Solvent

Intended Function:

A light, oxidation-stable emollient and solvent that softens skin and disperses oils and pigments.

Common Applications:

Used across moisturizers, serums and lotions and treatment formulas.

Target Audience:

Brands wanting an elegant, dry-touch emollient and pigment/oil solvent.

Also Known As:

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

Benefits of C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

A light, dry-feel emollient and solvent with outstanding stability.

Dry, Silky Feel: Softens skin with a light, non-greasy finish.
Effortless Spread: Improves slip and playtime; glides on and rubs in easily.
Solvent: Dissolves oil-soluble actives and wets pigments for even color.
Oxidation-Stable: Highly resistant to rancidity for long shelf life.
Mild Antimicrobial Support: Contributes light support to formula freshness.

How It Works

As a benzoate ester of fatty alcohols, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate has low surface tension and spreads rapidly into a thin, dry-feeling film that softens the skin; its non-polar nature makes it a good solvent for oils and pigments, and its ester structure is very stable against oxidation.

Formulating with C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is used in the oil phase across a wide range of levels to lighten feel, boost spread and dissolve oil-soluble ingredients in moisturizers, sunscreens and color cosmetics. Observe good manufacturing and preservation practice.

Safety Analysis

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is well tolerated with an excellent stability and safety profile. As always, substantiate the finished product’s safety (e.g. patch / HRIPT testing) in line with MoCRA requirements.

References

https://incidecoder.com/ingredients/c12-15-alkyl-benzoate

https://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/c12-15-alkyl-benzoate/

https://cosmeticanalysis.com/cosmetic-ingredients/c12-15-alkyl-benzoate

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