What is it?
An oil made by joining glycerin with caprylic and capric acids, two medium-chain fatty acids found in coconut oil. It softens skin and dissolves other oil-soluble ingredients, and it is one of the most widely used emollients in cosmetics, found in face creams, eye lotions, body sprays, face powders, and hair and baby products. The same kind of material is used in foods and supplements as MCT (medium-chain triglyceride) oil.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded it is safe as used in cosmetics in 1980, reaffirmed that in 2003, and found it safe again in a 2018 review of 51 triglycerides.
- Undiluted, it did not irritate or sensitize skin in human patch testing.
- In a 1989 rabbit-ear survey, it scored 1 out of 5 for comedogenicity, a grade the author did not consider significant.
More information
Caprylic/capric triglyceride is made by splitting coconut oil into its fatty acids, separating out the medium-chain caprylic and capric acids by distillation, and joining them back onto glycerin. Other edible vegetable oils can also serve as the starting material, and the ingredient name does not say which one was used.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel first concluded it was safe as used in cosmetics in 1980 and reaffirmed that in 2003. In a 2018 review of 51 triglycerides, the panel concluded that all of them are safe in the present practices of use and concentration. By then caprylic/capric triglyceride was reported in 6,000 cosmetic formulas, at up to 95.6 percent in face and neck products. Undiluted, it was not an irritant or a sensitizer in human patch testing, and it was at most very mildly irritating to rabbit eyes. The FDA has issued letters attesting to its safety as a food additive, and it is an ingredient in an emulsion approved for intravenous nutrition.
It also does well on comedogenicity. A 1989 survey applied ingredients daily to the sensitive inner ear of rabbits for two weeks and graded pore-clogging from 0 to 5. Caprylic/capric triglyceride scored 1, which the author did not consider significant. He described the rabbit model as extremely sensitive and noted that the rest of a formula can change how an ingredient behaves.
On cosmetic labels it appears as caprylic/capric triglyceride. In foods and supplements, look for MCT oil or medium-chain triglycerides.
Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Amended safety assessment of triglycerides as used in cosmetics (2018); Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (1989): Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products
