PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a nonionic emulsifier and solubilizer that helps blend oil and water phases in creams, lotions, and cleansers. It can also improve texture and help disperse lipophilic materials evenly.
What does PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a nonionic emulsifier and solubilizer that helps blend oil and water phases in creams, lotions, and cleansers. It can also improve texture and help disperse lipophilic materials evenly.
Is PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate clean?
Clean beauty standards often flag it because it is ethoxylated and can carry trace processing residues such as 1,4-dioxane if purification is not well controlled. It is usually low-irritation in finished formulas, but its manufacturing route creates more clean-standard friction than simpler fatty esters.
Is PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate sustainable?
It is typically made from plant or animal fatty acids combined with petrochemical ethoxylation, so sourcing can be mixed unless certified. It is expected to be at least partly biodegradable through ester cleavage, but the ethoxylated segment is less straightforward than simple plant oils or fatty alcohols.
Is PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS natural or organic standards because it is an ethoxylated material made using ethylene oxide chemistry. From a Green Chemistry lens, its fatty-acid portion can be bio-based, but petrochemical processing, potential trace byproducts, and a less favorable biodegradation profile keep it poorly aligned.
How does PEG-15 Glyceryl Stearate work chemically?
The molecule is an ethoxylated glycerol fatty-acid ester, with a hydrophilic ether chain attached to a lipophilic it-based portion, giving it nonionic emulsifying behavior. It is generally stable across typical cosmetic pH ranges and is used with co-emulsifiers, fatty alcohols, or gums to build viscosity and improve emulsion stability.
Last updated 2026-05-15