Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is primarily a viscosity builder and rheology modifier, especially in cleansing formulas. It helps thicken surfactant systems and can improve suspension and texture stability.
What does Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is primarily a viscosity builder and rheology modifier, especially in cleansing formulas. It helps thicken surfactant systems and can improve suspension and texture stability.
Is Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is made through ethoxylation, which can leave trace processing residues if purification is not well controlled. It is generally low-irritation in finished formulas, but many stricter clean frameworks flag this chemistry rather than the skin feel itself.
Is Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate sustainable?
This material is typically made from fatty acid feedstocks combined with petrochemical-derived ethoxylated components, so its sourcing is mixed rather than clearly renewable. Its large nonionic structure is expected to have slower biodegradation than simpler fatty alcohols or plant oils, which creates an environmental persistence concern.
Is Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient is not permitted under COSMOS natural or organic standards because ethoxylated materials are excluded. Its fit with Green Chemistry is limited by petrochemical input, added processing complexity, and less favorable biodegradability compared with simpler naturally derived thickeners.
How does Peg-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, nonionic, ethoxylated tetraester built around a polyol core, with long saturated fatty chains and a large hydrophilic polyether segment. It is usually used at low single-digit percentages to build viscosity in surfactant systems, often with heat and strong mixing for proper incorporation, and it is generally stable in the mildly acidic to neutral pH range used in many cleansers.
Last updated 2026-05-13