Glyceryl Stearate Citrate

TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily an oil-in-water emulsifier and emulsion stabilizer. It helps blend oils with water while adding a soft, conditioned skin feel to creams, lotions, sunscreens, and hair conditioners.

What does Glyceryl Stearate Citrate do in a cosmetic formula?

This ingredient is primarily an oil-in-water emulsifier and emulsion stabilizer. It helps blend oils with water while adding a soft, conditioned skin feel to creams, lotions, sunscreens, and hair conditioners.

Is Glyceryl Stearate Citrate clean?

Clean-beauty frameworks generally treat it as low-friction, well tolerated, and not a common allergen. Its main caveat is supply-chain transparency for the fatty-acid source rather than a major safety controversy.

Is Glyceryl Stearate Citrate sustainable?

This material is typically made from glycerin, plant-derived fatty acids, and citric acid, though the fatty-acid source can include palm or other vegetable oils. It is expected to biodegrade well and is not associated with environmental persistence concerns.

Is Glyceryl Stearate Citrate COSMOS-approved?

It is permitted under COSMOS-natural and can fit COSMOS-organic formulas when made from approved feedstocks and processing methods. From a Green Chemistry view, it aligns well because it can use renewable raw materials, simple ester chemistry, and biodegradable building blocks.

How does Glyceryl Stearate Citrate work chemically?

The molecule is an amphiphilic ester built from glycerin, a C18 saturated fatty-acid chain, and citric acid, giving it both oil-compatible and water-interactive regions. It is commonly used around 1 to 4 percent, often with fatty alcohols or co-emulsifiers, and performs best in mildly acidic to neutral emulsions.

Last updated 2026-05-13