Sodium Isostearate ●
TL;DR. This ingredient functions mainly as an anionic surfactant and emulsifier, helping cleanse, disperse oils, and stabilize oil-water systems. It can also add body and structure to sticks, creams, and pressed formats.
What does Sodium Isostearate do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient functions mainly as an anionic surfactant and emulsifier, helping cleanse, disperse oils, and stabilize oil-water systems. It can also add body and structure to sticks, creams, and pressed formats.
Is Sodium Isostearate clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it is generally viewed as a straightforward fatty-acid-derived material with no major restricted-list friction. Like many anionic cleansing ingredients, it can feel drying or irritating at higher levels, especially in high-pH formulas or on reactive skin.
Is Sodium Isostearate sustainable?
This material is typically made from fatty-acid feedstocks that may be plant-derived, with sodium as the counterion. It is expected to be readily biodegradable and does not raise the persistence concerns associated with silicone or fluorinated materials.
Is Sodium Isostearate COSMOS-approved?
It can be permitted under COSMOS-natural and COSMOS-organic when produced from approved natural-origin fatty-acid sources and allowed neutralization chemistry. Its Green Chemistry fit is strongest when renewable feedstocks are used, with good biodegradability and relatively simple processing.
How does Sodium Isostearate work chemically?
The molecule is an anionic, branched C18 fatty-acid salt with a polar carboxylate head and a hydrophobic alkyl tail, which gives it cleansing, emulsifying, and structuring behavior. It performs best in neutral to alkaline systems, while acidic pH can convert the salt back toward the free fatty acid form and reduce its surfactant efficiency.
Last updated 2026-05-13