What is it?
A hard, glossy wax from the leaves of the carnauba palm, Copernicia cerifera (also called Copernicia prunifera), which grows in Brazil. It is made mostly of esters of long-chain fatty acids and alcohols and is the hardest of the commercial plant waxes. In cosmetics it firms lipsticks, balms, eyeliners and mascara. It is also used as a surface finish on candies and fresh fruit, coats some capsules and goes into floor and car polishes.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 1984 that carnauba wax is safe as used in cosmetics and reaffirmed that conclusion in 2005.
- The FDA affirms carnauba wax as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in foods such as candy, chewing gum, baked goods and fresh fruit.
- In human patch tests reviewed by CIR, carnauba wax did not cause significant irritation, allergy or reactions to light.
- Allergy to carnauba wax is rare but has been reported from lip balms and mascara.
More information
During dry months, carnauba palm leaves and stalks give off a wax. The dried leaves are beaten to loosen it, and the crude wax is melted in boiling water and skimmed off. Carnauba wax has the highest melting point of the commercial plant waxes, 83 to 86°C (about 181 to 187°F), which helps stick products keep their shape in warm weather. As a food additive in the EU it is numbered E903.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel assessed carnauba wax together with beeswax, candelilla wax and Japan wax in 1984 and concluded that these waxes are safe as used in cosmetics, a conclusion it reaffirmed in 2005. In the studies it reviewed, undiluted carnauba wax did not irritate animal skin. A lipstick containing 5.61 percent caused neither sensitization nor clinically significant irritation in a patch test on 151 people, and the wax tested at 25 percent was neither phototoxic nor photosensitizing. Rats and dogs fed carnauba wax showed no toxic effects. Industry data from 2024 list it in more than 5,000 cosmetic formulations, and 2022 data show use at up to 30 percent, in mascara.
Carnauba wax is not a common allergen, but allergy is possible. Published case reports describe allergic reactions on the lips from lip balms containing the wax and on the eyelids from a mascara. People with a confirmed allergy can look for Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax on ingredient lists. See also our beeswax profile.
Sources: CIR: Re-review of Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Candelilla Wax and Japan Wax, including the 1984 final report (2025); Cornell LII: 21 CFR 184.1978, Carnauba wax; Contact Dermatitis (2013): Allergic contact cheilitis caused by carnauba wax in a lip balm
