Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline ●
TL;DR. This ingredient primarily acts as a structuring agent, thickener, and occlusive film-former in balms, lip products, sticks, and creams. It helps products hold shape, improves payoff, and adds water resistance.
What does Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient primarily acts as a structuring agent, thickener, and occlusive film-former in balms, lip products, sticks, and creams. It helps products hold shape, improves payoff, and adds water resistance.
Is Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is usually well tolerated on skin but often flagged because it is fossil-derived and depends on high refining quality. Cosmetic grades are purified to control PAH residues, which is the main quality concern.
Is Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline sustainable?
This material is sourced from nonrenewable petroleum refining. It is not readily biodegradable and has a persistence profile that is weaker than many plant-derived structuring materials.
Is Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it is a petrochemical derivative rather than an approved natural-origin input. Its Green Chemistry alignment is limited by nonrenewable feedstock and low biodegradability, even though it is chemically stable and used at low functional levels.
How does Cera Microcristallina/Microcrystalline Wax/Cire Microcristalline work chemically?
This material is a complex solid blend of mostly saturated branched and cyclic hydrocarbons, giving it fine crystal structure, oil binding, and firm texture. It is water-insoluble, oil-dispersible, typically melts around 60 to 90°C depending on grade, and is often used at about 1 to 20% in anhydrous sticks, balms, and color cosmetics.
Last updated 2026-05-13