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Behenyl Alcohol

What Behenyl Alcohol is & what it does

A long-chain fatty alcohol used as an emollient and thickener that gives rich formulas body and stability. It conditions skin and helps prevent moisture loss.

What is Behenyl Alcohol and what does it do in sunscreen?

Behenyl Alcohol is a long-chain fatty alcohol that works as both an emollient and a thickener. It gives rich creams body and stability and leaves skin feeling soft and conditioned. Despite the word alcohol, it is a waxy, moisturizing ingredient, not the drying kind of alcohol.

Is Behenyl Alcohol drying like regular alcohol?

No. Behenyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol, which is a soft, waxy material very different from drying alcohols like alcohol denat or ethanol. Rather than stripping the skin, it conditions it and helps soften and smooth. The shared word in the name causes a lot of confusion, but the two behave in opposite ways.

Is Behenyl Alcohol safe?

Yes. Fatty alcohols like Behenyl Alcohol are widely used, well-tolerated emollients and thickeners considered safe in cosmetics. They sit on the surface to soften skin and give the formula structure. For most people they are gentle and non-irritating.

Does Behenyl Alcohol clog pores?

Generally no. Behenyl Alcohol is treated as low on the comedogenicity scale and is not one of the classic pore-clogging ingredients. Very acne-prone skin can occasionally react to rich emollients, but in a balanced formula it is not a notable concern.

Is Behenyl Alcohol natural or synthetic?

It can be either, since fatty alcohols are commonly sourced from plant oils but can also be made synthetically. Either way the finished ingredient is the same waxy fatty alcohol used to soften skin and thicken the formula. Its source does not change how it behaves on your skin.

Sunscreens with Behenyl Alcohol

We rate 738 sunscreens that contain it, showing the top 10 by overall score:

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