Dilauryl Citrate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily an emollient and skin-conditioning ester, adding slip, softness, and a lightweight lipid feel to creams, lotions, and makeup. It can also help adjust texture and improve the spread of oil-phase ingredients.
What does Dilauryl Citrate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is primarily an emollient and skin-conditioning ester, adding slip, softness, and a lightweight lipid feel to creams, lotions, and makeup. It can also help adjust texture and improve the spread of oil-phase ingredients.
Is Dilauryl Citrate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally viewed as low-friction and well tolerated, with no common restricted-list profile when manufactured to cosmetic purity standards. Sensitivity is not a typical concern, though any ester can be formulation-dependent for very reactive skin.
Is Dilauryl Citrate sustainable?
This material is commonly made from a naturally occurring organic acid and long-chain fatty alcohols that may come from coconut, palm kernel, or other plant oils. It is expected to be biodegradable as an ester, but palm-derived feedstock should be checked for responsible sourcing if relevant.
Is Dilauryl Citrate COSMOS-approved?
It is generally compatible with COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic approaches when made from permitted natural-origin feedstocks and allowed processing chemistry. Its profile fits Green Chemistry reasonably well through esterification, potential renewable sourcing, and biodegradability.
How does Dilauryl Citrate work chemically?
The molecule is a diester built from a tricarboxylic hydroxy acid core and two C12 fatty alcohol chains, giving it a polar center with lipophilic tails. It is oil-soluble, typically used at low single-digit percentages for emollience or texture adjustment, and its ester bonds are more stable near neutral pH than under strongly acidic or alkaline conditions.
Last updated 2026-05-13