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The Beauty & Personal Care Brand Builder Series

Ingredient Deep Dive

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

The Beauty & Personal Care Brand Builder Series

Ingredient Deep Dive

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

A Light, Silky Emollient Ester

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate (also called Cetyl Octanoate) is a light emollient ester, supplied as a clear, low-viscosity oil.

It gives formulas a dry, silky, non-greasy slip and excellent spreadability — a workhorse texturizing emollient in modern skincare.

Quick Insights

Ingredient Rating:

GOOD

Type of Ingredient:

Emollient

Intended Function:

A light, oxidation-stable emollient ester used for a dry, silky skin feel and easy spreadability.

Common Applications:

Used in moisturizers, serums, sunscreens and color cosmetics.

Target Audience:

Brands wanting a light, elegant synthetic emollient to refine texture and spread.

Also Known As:

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Cetyl Octanoate

Benefits of Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

A dependable functional ingredient that does its job elegantly.

Silky Slip: Delivers a light, dry-touch, non-greasy feel.
Spreadability: Improves glide and even application.
Pigment Wetting: Helps disperse pigments and powders in color and sunscreen.
Emollient Softening: Softens without heaviness.
Stable: Oxidation-stable synthetic ester with a long shelf life.

How It Works

As a branched, saturated ester, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate is oxidation-stable and spreads easily, laying down a thin, dry-feeling emollient film — which is why it is used to lighten heavier oil phases and improve sensory feel.

Formulating with Cetyl Ethylhexanoate

Oil-phase; add at any point in the oil phase to adjust feel and spreadability, typically a few percent up.

Safety Analysis

Cetyl Ethylhexanoate is a well-tolerated, widely used emollient ester. Substantiate the finished product (patch / HRIPT) per MoCRA.

References

https://incidecoder.com/ingredients/cetyl-ethylhexanoate

https://cosmetics.specialchem.com/inci-ingredients/cetyl-ethylhexanoate

https://cosmeticanalysis.com/cosmetic-ingredients/cetyl-ethylhexanoate

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