PEG-20 STEARATE
PEG-20 Stearate is made from a stearate portion linked to a polyethylene glycol chain. That arrangement gives the molecule one side with an affinity for oily materials and another that relates to water, which is useful when a formula needs to keep oil and water together.
PEG-20 STEARATE: what it is
PEG-20 Stearate is made from a stearate portion linked to a polyethylene glycol chain. That arrangement gives the molecule one side with an affinity for oily materials and another that relates to water, which is useful when a formula needs to keep oil and water together.
The number 20 indicates an average of twenty ethylene oxide units in the PEG portion. Although its name includes “stearate,” it is not stearic acid on its own: it is an ethoxylated ester. That difference explains why it can move between the oily and water phases of an emulsion rather than behaving as an exclusively oily component.
PEG-20 STEARATE: what it does in cosmetics
PEG-20 Stearate helps form and maintain emulsions, such as lotions and creams in which water and oily components must stay mixed. In practical terms, this can help a product remain uniform in the package and spread without quickly separating into layers. As a humectant, it can help the formula retain water.
In rinse-off products, its surfactant action also helps oily residues disperse in water during cleansing. This is physical work within the formula: the presence of the ingredient does not, by itself, turn a cream or cleanser into treatment for a skin condition. The result a person notices depends on the product type and the combination of its components.
Products containing this ingredient
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