Liquid Paraffin ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is an occlusive emollient and skin protectant that softens skin, adds slip, and reduces transepidermal water loss. It is common in balms, ointments, creams, baby products, and barrier-repair formulas.
What does Liquid Paraffin do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is an occlusive emollient and skin protectant that softens skin, adds slip, and reduces transepidermal water loss. It is common in balms, ointments, creams, baby products, and barrier-repair formulas.
Is Liquid Paraffin clean?
Cosmetic-grade material is highly refined, generally low-irritation, and low-sensitization. Clean-beauty standards often flag it because of petrochemical sourcing and the need for tight control of aromatic hydrocarbon impurities.
Is Liquid Paraffin sustainable?
This material is fossil-derived and not readily biodegradable. Its main sustainability drawbacks are nonrenewable sourcing and environmental persistence rather than high processing complexity.
Is Liquid Paraffin COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it comes from petrochemical feedstocks. From a Green Chemistry view, it scores poorly on renewability and biodegradability, though it is chemically stable and typically requires little reactive processing for cosmetic use.
How does Liquid Paraffin work chemically?
This compound is a purified mixture of saturated hydrocarbons, mostly linear, branched, and cyclic chains, with very low polarity and high oxidation stability. It can be used from low single digits in creams to very high levels in ointments, is essentially pH-independent, and needs emulsifiers when incorporated into water-based systems.
Last updated 2026-08-31