What is it?
An emollient and emulsifier made by combining cetearyl alcohol, a blend of 16- and 18-carbon fatty alcohols, with fatty acids from olive oil. It helps oil and water form smooth, stable creams and lotions and softens skin and hair. It is not made with ethylene oxide, so it is not a PEG ingredient. It is used mainly in leave-on creams and lotions, including eye-area products, and in some rinse-off products.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel concluded in 2013 that it and related alkyl esters are safe in present practices of use and concentration when formulated to be non-irritating.
- Reported use levels were 0.3 to 3 percent.
- The CIR review had no tests on cetearyl olivate itself; its safety was judged from closely related esters.
More information
The CIR describes cetearyl olivate as the mixture of esters formed when fatty alcohols with 16 to 18 carbons react with fatty acids derived from olive oil. The alcohol part is the same as cetearyl alcohol, which we rate Green Light. Fatty alcohols like these can be made from plant oils such as palm kernel oil or from petrochemicals, and the label does not say which. It is a processed ingredient, not olive oil itself.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel included cetearyl olivate in its 2013 review of 237 alkyl esters and concluded that they are safe in present practices of use and concentration when formulated to be non-irritating. At that time cetearyl olivate was reported in 152 products at 0.3 to 3 percent, including eye-area products at up to 3 percent. The review contained no toxicity tests on cetearyl olivate itself. The panel judged its safety from the many related esters, which were not sensitizers in animal or human studies, and noted that absorption of alkyl esters through the skin is likely to be low.
We found no published comedogenicity testing of cetearyl olivate. A 1989 rabbit-ear survey found that large esters such as cetyl palmitate were not a problem, and cetearyl olivate is a similarly large ester, but that is an inference, not a test result.
Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Amended safety assessment of alkyl esters as used in cosmetics (2013); Journal of Surfactants and Detergents (2016): Comparison of oleo- vs petro-sourcing of fatty alcohols; Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (1989): Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products
