Castor Wax ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is used as a waxy structurant, thickener, and stabilizer in balms, sticks, creams, and anhydrous formulas. It helps raise melt point, improve payoff, add body, and reduce oil separation.
What does Castor Wax do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is used as a waxy structurant, thickener, and stabilizer in balms, sticks, creams, and anhydrous formulas. It helps raise melt point, improve payoff, add body, and reduce oil separation.
Is Castor Wax clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally well-tolerated and not a common restricted-list concern. The main quality consideration is routine control of processing residues from catalytic hydrogenation.
Is Castor Wax sustainable?
This material comes from a renewable plant seed oil and is expected to biodegrade like other fatty waxes and triglyceride-derived materials. Its sustainability profile is favorable, with some processing energy and catalyst-management considerations from hydrogenation.
Is Castor Wax COSMOS-approved?
It is generally permitted under COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic when the plant feedstock and processing route meet the standard. It fits Green Chemistry reasonably well because it is renewable, biodegradable, and made through a relatively straightforward modification rather than a persistent synthetic polymer route.
How does Castor Wax work chemically?
This compound is a high-melting triglyceride wax made by saturating a hydroxy-fatty-acid-rich vegetable oil, leaving a solid material rich in saturated hydroxy fatty acid esters. It is water-insoluble, used commonly around 0.5% to 10% depending on whether the formula is an emulsion or stick, melts roughly in the 80°C to 90°C range, and has good oxidative stability because most double bonds have been removed.
Last updated 2026-05-13