How we scored it
12-Hydroxystearic acid made by hydrogenating ricinoleic acid from castor oil; hydrogenated natural fatty acid = 1.0.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.
Where it comes from
Hydroxystearic Acid is manufactured by catalytic hydrogenation of ricinoleic acid from castor oil. This is the standard, essentially exclusive commercial route.
In plain English
A waxy fatty acid made by treating castor oil with hydrogen. It thickens formulas and conditions skin, acting as a mild cleansing and emulsifying ingredient.
Structure
12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid
References
- 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
- 2Hydroxystearic Acid. PubChem CID 7789. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3HYDROXYSTEARIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4HYDROXYSTEARIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HYDROXYSTEARIC%20ACID