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Food Industry: Serves as a flavoring agent to formulate bacon, fatty, or waxy flavors. It is added to candies, frozen dairy products, beverages, and processed meats to enhance aroma.
Industrial Applications: Acts as a lubricant for machinery and plastics, reducing friction between components. It also functions as a water repellent for materials like fabrics and leather, and as an emulsifier in coatings and inks to stabilize mixtures.
Cosmetics & Personal Care: Used in creams, lotions, and lipsticks as an emollient and thickener. It improves product texture, enhances skin moisturization, and helps ingredients blend evenly.
Items | Specifications | Results |
Appearance | Colorless crystals | Pass test |
0dor | Odorless,slightly waxy | Pass test |
Assay(GC,%) | 99.10 | |
Acid value | ≤1 | 0.69 |
Conclusion | The product conforms to the above specifications. | |
Ethyl Stearate is a fatty acid ester. In simple terms, it's the compound formed when stearic acid (a common fatty acid found in animal and vegetable fats) reacts with ethanol (a common alcohol). This reaction is called esterification.
It is a waxy, oil-like substance used in a wide variety of cosmetic, industrial, and food products.
Chemical Name: Ethyl Stearate
CAS Number: 111-61-5
Chemical Formula: C₂₀H₄₀O₂
IUPAC Name: Ethyl octadecanoate
Structure: It consists of a long, 18-carbon chain (the stearate part, which is non-polar and hydrophobic) attached to an ethyl group (COO-CH₂CH₃).
Physical State: Colorless crystals or a liquid/oily substance, depending on the temperature. Its melting point is quite low, around 33-35°C (91-95°F).
Odor: Faint, waxy, or fatty odor.
Solubility: It is insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents like ethanol, ether, and chloroform. This makes it useful for formulations that need to be water-resistant.
Feel: It has a soft, smooth, and nongreasy feel on the skin, which is highly desirable in cosmetics.
Ethyl stearate is produced through a classic chemical reaction called esterification:
Stearic Acid + Ethanol → Ethyl Stearate + Water
This reaction is typically accelerated by an acid catalyst and heat.
Ethyl Stearate is valued for its emollient, lubricating, and solvent properties.
A. Cosmetics and Personal Care (Primary Use)
Emollient: It acts as a skin softener and conditioner, giving lotions, creams, and makeup a smooth, spreadable texture without a greasy feel.
Hair Conditioner: It helps to soften hair and reduce static.
Solvent: It can dissolve other organic ingredients in a formulation.
Opacity Agent: It can be used to create pearlescent or opaque effects in shampoos and liquid soaps.
Found In: Foundations, lipsticks, moisturizers, sunscreens, deodorants, and hair care products.
B. Food Industry
Food Additive: It is used as a flavoring agent and a lubricant in food processing.
Carrier for Additives: It can help carry other fat-soluble food additives evenly through a product.
C. Industrial Applications
Plasticizer: It is added to plastics to make them more flexible.
Lubricant: Used as a synthetic lubricant in various machinery.
Intermediate: Serves as a chemical building block for the synthesis of other, more complex chemicals.
Ethyl Stearate is generally considered safe for use in cosmetics and food by regulatory bodies like the FDA (in the US) and the EFSA (in Europe) when used within recommended concentrations.
It has low toxicity and is non-irritating to the skin for the vast majority of people.
As with any ingredient, isolated cases of individual sensitivity are always possible, but they are rare for this compound.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| What it is | An ester formed from Stearic Acid and Ethanol. |
| Appearance | Waxy solid or oily liquid. |
| Primary Use | Emollient and texture enhancer in cosmetics. |
| Key Properties | Soft, smooth feel; water-resistant; solvent. |
| Safety | Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for its intended uses. |
In essence, Ethyl Stearate is a versatile workhorse ingredient that helps create the desirable texture, spreadability, and feel in many everyday products, from your favorite moisturizer to your lipstick.



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