Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³

TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily an emollient and skin-conditioning ester, adding slip, cushion, and a soft waxy feel to creams, balms, sticks, and color cosmetics. It can also help structure anhydrous formulas and improve pigment or powder dispersion.

What does Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³ do in a cosmetic formula?

This ingredient is primarily an emollient and skin-conditioning ester, adding slip, cushion, and a soft waxy feel to creams, balms, sticks, and color cosmetics. It can also help structure anhydrous formulas and improve pigment or powder dispersion.

Is Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³ clean?

This ingredient has a generally low irritation profile and little clean-standard friction when well purified. Clean-beauty review usually focuses on residual fatty alcohols or fatty acids, plus the origin of the oleochemical feedstocks.

Is Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³ sustainable?

It is typically made from plant-derived fatty inputs, including castor-derived fatty acid and a long-chain fatty alcohol that may come from palm, coconut, or other oleochemical streams. As a fatty ester, it is expected to be biodegradable and is not associated with high environmental persistence.

Is Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³ COSMOS-approved?

It is generally compatible with COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic products when made from permitted natural feedstocks using allowed esterification chemistry. Its Green Chemistry profile is favorable when renewable oleochemical inputs, solvent-light processing, and good biodegradability are documented.

How does Cetyl Ricinoleate¹³ work chemically?

The molecule is a waxy long-chain ester formed from a C16 fatty alcohol and a hydroxylated C18:1 fatty acid, giving it both lubricity and a more substantive, cushiony skin feel than many lighter esters. It is oil-soluble, water-insoluble, stable across typical cosmetic pH ranges, and used mainly in the oil phase of emulsions, balms, sticks, and pressed-powder systems.

Last updated 2026-05-13