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Coco-Caprylate

What Coco-Caprylate is & what it does

A light, coconut-derived emollient ester with a dry, velvety slip, used as a natural alternative to silicones. It softens skin and improves spreadability without greasiness.

What is Coco-Caprylate and what does it do in sunscreen?

Coco-Caprylate is an emollient ester derived from coconut. In a sunscreen it softens skin and improves how the lotion spreads, giving a dry, velvety slip that often stands in for silicones. It helps the formula feel light rather than greasy while leaving skin smooth.

Is Coco-Caprylate safe?

Yes. Coco-Caprylate is a mild, well-tolerated emollient with no notable safety concerns at the levels used in cosmetics. It is non-irritating for most people and sits on the surface of skin rather than being absorbed in any meaningful way. It is a common choice in facial and body sunscreens, including ones aimed at sensitive skin.

Does Coco-Caprylate clog pores?

Generally no. Coco-Caprylate is a lightweight, dry-feel ester rather than a heavy oil or wax, and it is widely used precisely because it feels less occlusive than richer emollients. It is not flagged as comedogenic in our data. As always, how a whole formula behaves on your skin matters more than any single ingredient.

Is Coco-Caprylate natural?

It is coconut-derived but processed. The fatty building blocks come from coconut oil, then they are combined into the finished ester in a lab, so it is best described as a naturally-derived synthetic emollient. It is often picked as a plant-based, silicone-free alternative for that reason.

What is Coco-Caprylate on an ingredient list (INCI)?

"Coco-Caprylate" is the INCI name printed on the label. It is sometimes part of a blend listed as Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, which pairs it with a closely related ester. It usually appears in the middle of the list, among the emollients and oils that set the skin feel.

Sunscreens with Coco-Caprylate

We rate 199 sunscreens that contain it, showing the top 10 by overall score:

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