Cera Alba ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily a structuring agent and occlusive film-former, giving balms, sticks, salves, and creams firmness, glide, and water-resistance.
What does Cera Alba do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is primarily a structuring agent and occlusive film-former, giving balms, sticks, salves, and creams firmness, glide, and water-resistance.
Is Cera Alba clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally well tolerated and not a common restricted-list material. The main flags are non-vegan origin and occasional sensitivity from trace hive-derived residues or fragrance-like impurities.
Is Cera Alba sustainable?
This material is renewable, biodegradable, and typically obtained as a byproduct of apiculture. Sustainability depends on responsible sourcing, colony management, and controls for pesticide or environmental residues.
Is Cera Alba COSMOS-approved?
It is permitted under COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic when sourced as an allowed animal-derived material and compliant with residue and animal-welfare criteria. It aligns well with Green Chemistry through renewable sourcing, low transformation intensity, and biodegradability, though it is not vegan.
How does Cera Alba work chemically?
This material is a complex lipid mixture dominated by long-chain fatty acid esters, with smaller fractions of free fatty acids, hydrocarbons, and fatty alcohols. It typically melts around 61 to 65°C and is commonly used at about 1 to 10% for structure, or higher in anhydrous sticks and balms.
Last updated 2026-05-13