What is it?
A clear, colorless, practically odorless liquid made by joining palmitic acid with 2-ethylhexyl alcohol. Also called octyl palmitate, it is the most widely used of the alkyl esters, a large family of skin-softening ingredients. It is found in body and hand lotions, eye makeup, lipsticks, nail products and tanning products.
Key information
- The CIR Expert Panel considers it safe in present practices of use and concentration when products are formulated to be non-irritating.
- A body oil containing 77.9 percent did not cause allergic reactions in a repeated patch test.
- It scored 4 out of 5 in a 1989 rabbit-ear comedogenicity survey, a test more sensitive than human skin.
- It is a different ingredient from the sunscreen filter octinoxate (octyl methoxycinnamate).
More information
Ethylhexyl palmitate is made by reacting palmitic acid, which is usually derived from palm oil, with 2-ethylhexyl alcohol, a branched eight-carbon alcohol. Despite the similar old name, octyl palmitate is a different ingredient from octyl methoxycinnamate (octinoxate), a sunscreen filter we rate Red Light.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel found it safe as used in 1982, reaffirmed that in 2005, and in 2013 included it among 237 alkyl esters it concluded are safe in present practices of use and concentration when formulated to be non-irritating. It was then reported in 1,525 products, at up to 78 percent in body and hand products. A body oil containing 77.9 percent did not cause allergic reactions in a repeated patch test. Irritation is possible at high levels: in a 21-day test under occlusive patches, a formula with about 42 percent produced signs of irritation in 7 of 24 people. The panel noted that some alkyl esters can irritate skin and so specified that products be formulated to be non-irritating.
Lists of pore-clogging ingredients often include ethylhexyl palmitate. Such ratings came from animal tests of raw ingredients: in a 1989 survey that applied ingredients daily to the sensitive inner ear of rabbits for two weeks, it scored 4 out of 5. The author called the model extremely sensitive and wrote that it remained uncertain whether high scorers always clog human pores. A 2006 study that tested finished products on human skin concluded that products made with comedogenic ingredients are not necessarily comedogenic. If you are acne-prone, how a particular product behaves on your skin is the better guide.
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; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (2006): A re-evaluation of the comedogenicity concept; Rainforest Action Network: The many ingredient names for palm oil (2011)
