Isopropyl Myristate (IPM)

Primary uses

• Very light, fast-spreading emolliency
• Penetration and spreading enhancement
• Solvency for oil-soluble actives and resins
• Degreasing sensory in wipe and cleaning formats

Applications

• Lotions, sprays and deodorants
• Make-up removers and wipes
• Hair styling and shine products
• Technical cleaning and lubricating uses

Advantages

• Very fast spreading with a dry, non-greasy finish
• Effective solvent for pigments, oils and some actives
• Low viscosity, which makes it well suited to spray and wipe formats

Limitations to consider

• Increases the penetration of other ingredients, which requires deliberate formulation judgement
• Widely discussed as comedogenic in facial formats, and that risk is assessed by the brand owner in the finished product
• Provides very little occlusive benefit, so it is a sensory tool rather than a barrier ingredient
• 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

• Start from the finished sensory target — a humectant, an emollient and a film former solve different problems and are often confused at the enquiry stage
• Confirm whether the material is a functional ingredient or a solvent/carrier in your formulation, because that changes the volume and the specification
• Check compatibility with the preservative system and the actives already fixed in the formula
• Confirm the phase and temperature at which it is added on your process
• For leave-on formats, plan a sensory panel: this group of materials is judged by feel, not by datasheet
• Confirm the finished format: it excels in sprays and wipes and is questioned in facial leave-ons
• Check material compatibility with the packaging, since fast-spreading esters interact with some plastics
• 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

• Standard liquid grades traded against declared assay and acid value
• Grades differentiated by declared colour and odour
• 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.