Aluminum Stearate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient primarily acts as an oil-phase thickener, suspending agent, and texture stabilizer in anhydrous balms, sticks, powders, and color cosmetics. It helps gel oils, reduce separation, and improve slip or payoff.
What does Aluminum Stearate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient primarily acts as an oil-phase thickener, suspending agent, and texture stabilizer in anhydrous balms, sticks, powders, and color cosmetics. It helps gel oils, reduce separation, and improve slip or payoff.
Is Aluminum Stearate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient is generally low-sensitization and is not the same use case as antiperspirant metal salts, but the metal association can create screening friction in some retailer standards. It is not a common fragrance allergen or preservative concern, with attention mainly on purity and intended use.
Is Aluminum Stearate sustainable?
This material is made by reacting a fatty acid source, often vegetable-derived and sometimes palm-derived, with a mineral-derived metal source. The organic fatty chain is expected to break down over time, while the metal portion returns to mineral forms rather than biodegrading, so sourcing transparency is the main sustainability issue.
Is Aluminum Stearate COSMOS-approved?
It is generally permitted in COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic formulations when made from allowed feedstocks and compliant processing, though it does not contribute organic content unless relevant inputs are certified. Its Green Chemistry fit is reasonable because it uses simple salt chemistry and potential renewable fatty feedstock, with weaker points around mining and the non-renewable metal fraction.
How does Aluminum Stearate work chemically?
The molecule is a hydrophobic metal soap, with a trivalent metal center associated with long C18 fatty acid chains that give strong oil compatibility and water repellency. It is typically used at about 0.5% to 5% for viscosity or suspension, is insoluble in water, disperses in oils with heat and shear, and can be sensitive to strongly acidic or alkaline systems that disrupt the salt structure.
Last updated 2026-05-14