Cetearyl Alcohol

Primary uses

• Consistency and viscosity building in emulsions
• Emulsion stabilisation through the liquid-crystal network
• Rich sensory and cushion
• Opacity contribution

Applications

• Creams, lotions and conditioners
• Hair masks and cationic emulsions
• Barrier and hand creams
• Colour cosmetics with an emulsion base

Advantages

• Builds body and stabilises both cationic and non-ionic emulsions
• Central to the gel network that gives conditioners their characteristic feel
• Available in flake, pastille and prill forms suited to different charging equipment

Limitations to consider

• C16/C18 ratio varies by source and materially changes texture and hardness
• Requires a heated phase; it will not disperse in a cold batch
• Overuse produces a waxy, draggy feel that consumers reject
• Use level is established in your own formulation by bench trial and stability testing. Supplier literature ranges are a starting point for that work, not a specification, and they are not reproduced here as one.
• Colour, odour and sensory behaviour vary between manufacturing sources even where the INCI name is identical, and in personal care those differences are visible to the end consumer. Approve a production-representative sample against your own finished format before the first commercial shipment.

How to choose the right grade

• State the emulsion type you need — oil-in-water, water-in-oil or a cationic conditioning emulsion
• Give the oil phase and its polarity, because emulsifier selection follows the oil rather than the water
• Confirm the processing temperature and cooling profile the plant can hold
• Decide whether the system is a complete emulsifying wax or a pair of components you will balance yourself
• Confirm compatibility with the actives, electrolytes and preservative system already fixed in the formula
• Ask for the declared C16/C18 ratio and match it when qualifying a second source
• Confirm the physical form your charging and melting equipment handles best
• Bench results do not transfer automatically to production. Order of addition, shear, neutralisation and cooling profile all change behaviour at scale, so plan a pilot batch on the intended equipment before committing to a production volume.
• Exact specification is confirmed against supplier documentation at quotation.

Typical grades

• Grades differentiated by declared C16/C18 ratio
• Flake, pastille and prill physical forms
• Buyers search for personal-care, cosmetic and pharmaceutical grade material by name, and those words describe what the buyer needs rather than what is asserted here. Which grade a specific offer corresponds to, and what documentation supports it, is read from the supplier documentation for the exact product quoted.
• Active matter, assay and purity are per-offer values that are declared by the supplier for the exact lot. They change both the use level in the formulation and the true cost per unit of function delivered, so quotations are compared on declared active content rather than on price per kilogram.
• Natural, plant-derived, hypoallergenic, dermatologically tested and similar positioning statements belong to the finished brand and must be supported by the brand owner's own evidence. Any such wording attached to a raw material is treated here as a buyer search term, not as a substantiated property of the material offered.