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Diisooctyl Succinate

What Diisooctyl Succinate is & what it does

Diisooctyl Succinate is a synthetic diester formed from succinic acid and isooctyl alcohol. In skincare and sunscreen formulas it works mainly as an emollient and skin-conditioning agent, giving products a light, smooth, non-greasy slip. It can also help solubilize and spread UV filters and other oil-soluble ingredients across the skin.

What does Diisooctyl Succinate do in skincare?

Diisooctyl Succinate works as an emollient and skin-conditioning agent. It softens the skin's surface and gives products a light, smooth slip without a heavy or greasy feel. In sunscreens it can also help spread and dissolve oil-soluble UV filters more evenly.

Is Diisooctyl Succinate natural or synthetic?

Diisooctyl Succinate is a synthetic ingredient, made by reacting succinic acid with isooctyl alcohol to form an ester. While succinic acid can occur in nature, the cosmetic version is produced through controlled chemical processing for consistent purity and performance.

Does Diisooctyl Succinate clog pores?

Diisooctyl Succinate is a lightweight ester emollient and is generally considered low on the scale of pore-clogging potential, though published comedogenicity ratings for it are limited. How any emollient behaves can vary with the full formula and individual skin. If you are prone to breakouts, patch testing a new product is a sensible step.

Sunscreens with Diisooctyl Succinate

We rate 7 sunscreens that contain it:

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