What is it?
A white, waxy ester made by joining cetyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol, with palmitic acid, a saturated fatty acid that usually comes from palm oil. It softens skin and leaves a light protective film. It is used in creams, lotions, lip balms and makeup.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel found it safe as used in 1982 and reaffirmed that in 2005; its 2013 alkyl esters review added that products should be formulated to be non-irritating.
- It scored 0 out of 5 in a 1989 rabbit-ear comedogenicity survey.
- Its palmitic acid usually comes from palm oil, which the label does not tell you.
More information
Palmitic acid is a major component of palm oil, making up about 44 percent of its fat, and it also occurs in cocoa butter, olive oil, meat and dairy fat. Ingredients whose names end in “palmitate” are usually made with palm-derived palmitic acid. The label does not say where an ingredient came from, so if palm sourcing matters to you, look for the product’s own statement on certified or palm-free sourcing.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel concluded that cetyl palmitate is safe as used in 1982 and reaffirmed that in 2005. In 2013 it was one of 237 alkyl esters the panel concluded are safe in present practices of use and concentration when formulated to be non-irritating. It was then reported in 511 products at up to 11 percent. In rats it was not toxic even at very high oral doses, and it was at most mildly irritating to rabbit skin. A product with 2.7 percent did not irritate human skin. In maximization tests, which are designed to provoke allergy, formulas with 2.5 and 2.7 percent were rated weak potential sensitizers, and one was judged unlikely to cause allergy in normal use.
On pore-clogging, the evidence is reassuring. A 1989 survey that applied ingredients daily to the sensitive inner ear of rabbits, a highly sensitive test, graded cetyl palmitate 0 out of 5, and the author noted that large esters such as cetyl palmitate “are not a problem.”
Sources: Cosmetic Ingredient Review: Amended safety assessment of alkyl esters as used in cosmetics (2013); Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (1989): Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products; Rainforest Action Network: The many ingredient names for palm oil (2011); Frontiers in Physiology (2017): Palmitic acid: physiological role, metabolism and nutritional implications
