What is so special about stearic acid?

Stearic acid is an emulsifier, emollient, and lubricant that can soften skin and help to keep products from separating. Stearic acid is used in hundreds of personal care products, including moisturizer, sunscreen, makeup, soap, and baby lotion.


Why is stearic acid important?

Stearic acid is mainly used in the production of detergents, soaps, and cosmetics such as shampoos and shaving cream products. It also helps objects such as bars of soap, candles, oil pastels and hard candies retain their shapes.

Is stearic acid necessary?

Some natural sources that contain stearic acid, such as coconut oil and shea butter, have moisturizing and anti-inflammatory properties. However, people should avoid using stearic acid on its own. It may irritate a person's skin and cause other health problems.


Is stearic acid good for your skin?

Stearic acid is a good choice for those with sensitive or irritated skin and has even been shown to help reduce the flaking and itchiness associated with psoriasis. Can stearic acid products be used on those with dry skin? Absolutely. Stearic acid is an emollient, meaning it works by softening and smoothing the skin.

Is stearic acid harmful to humans?

Is stearic acid safe? The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers stearic acid safe for both consumption as a food additive and for topical use in skin care products in limited quantities.


What Is Stearic Acid? Its Uses & The Consequences For Your Health.



Is stearic acid a carcinogen?

Previous studies have reported the antiproliferative effects of stearic acid, a dietary saturated fatty acid. Stearic acid inhibits proliferation of breast cancer cells and induces breast cancer cell apoptosis (11, 12, 14).

Is stearic acid natural?

A fatty acid that occurs naturally in animal and plant fats (typically coconut or palm oil), stearic acid is white, solid, often crystalline, and with a mild odor. It's a major component of cocoa and shea butter.

Will stearic acid clog pores?

Stearic Acid

Even though rated as fairly low on the comedogenic scale, this ingredient still has the potential for clogging your pores. This is especially bad news if you have sensitive skin or are prone to acne break-outs.


Is shea butter high in stearic acid?

Shea butter is characterized by a high level of stearic and oleic acid and contains a higher content of unsaponifiables than most vegetable oils.

Is stearic acid the same as glycolic acid?

Unlike exfoliating acids such as Glycolic, Lactic, and Lactobionic Acid, Stearic Acid is a fatty acid.

What can substitute stearic acid?

Stearic acid also produces creamier/richer products, so the end product will feel thinner/less substantial on the skin. Out of the two, cetearyl alcohol is the better option, but you'll likely need to do a bit of re-formulating. I don't recommend using a true wax as an alternative for stearic aid.


How much stearic acid is in body butter?

A typical recipe is 70-80% distilled water, 3-5% stearic acid, 3-6% emulsifying wax, and the rest is oil and butter.

What is the source of stearic acid?

Major food sources of stearic acid for adults are meat/ poultry/fish, grain products, and milk/milk products (Table 1). Fats rich in stearic acid include cocoa butter (typically consumed as chocolate), mutton tallow, beef tallow, lard, and butter.

What happens when you put stearic acid in water?

Stearic Acid is a waxy, colorless or white solid that exudes a mild odor. It is soluble in oil but only slightly dissolves in water, thus it floats. Stearic Acid is a long-chain fatty acid that, due to its 18-carbon chain, is also referred to as Octadecanoic Acid.


Is stearic acid a fat or oil?

Stearic acid is found in various animal and plant fats, and is a major component of cocoa butter and shea butter. Stearic acid (IUPAC systematic name: octadecanoic acid) is one of the useful types of saturated fatty acids that comes from many animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is a waxy solid.

Is olive oil a stearic acid?

Stearic Acid (C18:0), a saturated fatty acid that makes up 0.5 to 5% of olive oil.

Does avocado have stearic acid?

A typical avocado oil has 76% monounsaturates (oleic and palmitoleic acids), 12% polyunsaturates (linoleic and linolenic acids), and 12% saturates (palmitic and stearic acids); these values are given as percentage of fatty acid/total fatty acids.


Does coconut oil have stearic acid?

The level of stearic acid was increased from 4% in the native coconut oil to 40% in the structured lipids, with most of the stearic acid being incorporated into the sn-1 and sn-3 positions of TG.

What acid shrinks your pores?

Look for: Glycolic acid, a common AHA. Salicylic acid, a popular BHA. Daily skin care products — like toners, serums and treatments — that contain these acids in smaller doses.

What are the most pore clogging ingredients?

Common Pore-Clogging Ingredients
  • Acetylated Lanolin.
  • Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol.
  • Algae Extract.
  • Algin.
  • Beeswax.
  • Bismuth.
  • Butyl Stearate.
  • Butyrospermum Parkii.


What is the best active ingredient for pores?

Alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), like glycolic acid, and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs), such as salicylic acid, are the holy grail of ingredients when it comes to penetrating and "cleaning out" your pores.

What is the common name for stearic acid?

stearic acid, also called Octadecanoic Acid, one of the most common long-chain fatty acids, found in combined form in natural animal and vegetable fats.

What is stearic acid also known as?

Stearic acid, another name for octadecanoic acid CH3(CH2)16COOH, is one of the most common fatty acids. It exists as a glycerol ester in most animal and plant fats (Beare-Rogers, Dieffenbacher, & Holm, 2001). Stearic acid is more abundant in animal fat (up to 30%) than vegetable fat (typically <5%).


Does dark chocolate have stearic acid?

Darker and finer chocolates contain 70 percent cocoa butter, which provides the stearic acid.

Is stearic acid inflammatory?

Conclusion— Intracellular accumulation of stearic acid in MPMs activates inflammatory signaling, leading to ER stress–mediated apoptosis. M1 macrophages are more prone to stearic acid–induced inflammation and ER stress.