Myreth-3 Myristate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient primarily functions as an emollient and texture modifier, helping oils and waxy materials spread more smoothly while giving creams, lotions, and hair-care products a softer feel.
What does Myreth-3 Myristate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient primarily functions as an emollient and texture modifier, helping oils and waxy materials spread more smoothly while giving creams, lotions, and hair-care products a softer feel.
Is Myreth-3 Myristate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it carries friction because it is made through ethoxylation, a process associated with possible trace residues such as 1,4-dioxane if purification is not well controlled. It is generally used for feel and slip rather than a skin-essential role, so some stricter standards do not accept it.
Is Myreth-3 Myristate sustainable?
This material is typically made from fatty alcohol or fatty acid feedstocks combined with petrochemical-derived processing inputs. Its fatty portion may be plant-derived, but the ethoxylated structure and sourcing transparency make its sustainability profile mixed.
Is Myreth-3 Myristate COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because ethoxylated materials are generally outside the standard’s allowed processing rules. From a Green Chemistry lens, it has partial alignment through fatty feedstocks, but weaker alignment due to petrochemical inputs and purification concerns.
How does Myreth-3 Myristate work chemically?
The molecule is an ethoxylated fatty ester, combining a long lipophilic chain with a short polyether segment, which gives it both emollient and mild solubilizing behavior. It is usually stable across typical cosmetic pH ranges and is most relevant in oil phases or emulsions where it can improve spread, cushion, and compatibility with other lipid materials.
Last updated 2026-05-14