Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a structuring and viscosity-building agent that hardens sticks, balms, pencils, and creams while helping bind oils and pigments. It also adds film formation and water resistance by leaving a flexible, occlusive surface layer.
What does Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a structuring and viscosity-building agent that hardens sticks, balms, pencils, and creams while helping bind oils and pigments. It also adds film formation and water resistance by leaving a flexible, occlusive surface layer.
Is Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this material is mainly a standards issue rather than a skin-tolerance issue: it is generally inert and low-sensitizing, but many clean frameworks flag fossil-derived or synthetic hydrocarbon structuring agents. Residual refining impurities are controlled by cosmetic-grade specifications, yet the category still sees restricted-list friction.
Is Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax sustainable?
It is typically sourced from mined fossil mineral deposits or made from petrochemical feedstocks, so renewability is weak. The material is not readily biodegradable and can persist as solid hydrocarbon residue, although it is used at low levels and is not water soluble.
Is Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards when derived from petrochemical or fossil hydrocarbon sources, and the synthetic version is not a permitted natural-origin material. Green Chemistry fit is limited because the feedstocks are nonrenewable and biodegradability is poor, even though the material is stable and usually formulated without reactive chemistry.
How does Ozokerite/Synthetic Wax work chemically?
This material is a high-molecular-weight mixture of saturated hydrocarbons with a broad melting range, valued for crystallinity, hardness, and oil binding in anhydrous systems. Typical use is about 1 to 20%, lower in emulsions for viscosity and higher in sticks, balms, and pencils; it is essentially pH-independent, oxidation-resistant, and incompatible with systems that require ready water dispersibility.
Last updated 2026-05-13