What it is
- EU register name (INCI)
- STEARIC ACID
- CAS number
- 57-11-4
- EC number
- 200-313-4
What the register lists it for
These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Stearic Acid in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.
- Cleansing
-
The register’s general role for ingredients that help clean, from washing ingredients to some plant extracts.
Register definition: “Helping to keep the body surface clean.”
- Emulsifying surfactant
-
Lets oil and water mix into one cream or lotion and stay mixed. Conditioners and creams rely on them.
Register definition: “Helping suspensions or dispersions of liquids in a second liquid by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.”
- Emulsion stabilizing
-
Keeps a cream’s oil and water from separating on the shelf.
Register definition: “Helping the process of emulsification and improving emulsion stability and shelf-life.”
- Fragrance
-
Gives the product its smell or covers an unpleasant one. A label may name each scent ingredient or group them as Fragrance (Parfum).
Register definition: “Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.”
- Cleansing surfactant
-
The washing ingredients: they let water lift oil, product and dirt off hair and scalp. Shampoos list them near the top; some conditioners hold a little.
Register definition: “Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).”
- Refatting
-
Puts back oils that washing takes off hair or skin.
Register definition: “Replenishing the lipids of the hair or of the top layers of the skin.”
Where it sits on each label
US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.
- Shampoos 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Shampoos without it
- Deep conditioners 2 labels First five names: 0 of 2 Deep conditioners without it
- Stylers 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Stylers without it
- Curl refreshers 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Curl refreshers without it
Every label, product by product (5)
- PATTERN Hydration Shampoo Shampoo 37th of 42 names
- PATTERN Intensive Conditioner Deep conditioner 10th of 26 names
- Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Hair Mask Deep conditioner 19th of 26 names
- Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil Curl Smoothie Styler 23rd of 28 names
- PATTERN Hydrating Mist Curl refresher 34th of 52 names
Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.
Your next step
Other cleansing ingredients on these labels
- Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate 19 labels
- Decyl Glucoside 17 labels
- Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf Extract 12 labels
- Coco-Glucoside 6 labels
- Ceteareth-20 5 labels
- Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate 5 labels
- Lauryl Glucoside 5 labels
- Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate 4 labels
Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.