Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a lightweight emollient ester that improves slip, cushion, and gloss in skin care, lip products, and color cosmetics. It also helps disperse pigments and gives formulas a less greasy feel than many heavier oils.
What does Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a lightweight emollient ester that improves slip, cushion, and gloss in skin care, lip products, and color cosmetics. It also helps disperse pigments and gives formulas a less greasy feel than many heavier oils.
Is Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate clean?
It is generally well tolerated and is not a common allergen or a typical clean-standard restricted-list ingredient. The main clean-beauty questions are its synthetic processing route and whether the fatty alcohol feedstock is plant-derived or petro-derived.
Is Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate sustainable?
This material is made from a dicarboxylic acid core and C12-13 fatty alcohols, which may come from plant, petrochemical, or mixed sources depending on the supplier. Ester materials of this type are expected to be biodegradable, but sourcing transparency matters, especially if palm-derived alcohols are used.
Is Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate COSMOS-approved?
It can fit COSMOS-natural only when the feedstocks and esterification process meet the standard’s natural-origin and processing rules, so supplier certification is important. From a Green Chemistry view, it aligns better when made from renewable alcohols and simple esterification, with biodegradability as a plus.
How does Di-C12-13 Alkyl Malate work chemically?
The molecule is a diester with two medium-chain it groups attached to a hydroxy dicarboxylic acid backbone, giving it polarity plus oil compatibility. It is typically used as an emollient and pigment-wetting ester in anhydrous and emulsion systems, and it is generally stable across normal cosmetic pH when protected from strong hydrolysis conditions.
Last updated 2026-05-16