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Isopropyl Palmitate

What Isopropyl Palmitate is & what it does

An emollient and thickener that conditions skin and gives products a smooth, spreadable body. Like other heavy esters, it can be comedogenic for those prone to breakouts.

What is Isopropyl Palmitate and what does it do in sunscreen?

Isopropyl Palmitate is an emollient and texture agent: it conditions the skin and gives a sunscreen a smooth, fast-spreading, silky feel. It is an ester of palmitic acid and isopropyl alcohol, a lightweight oil-like liquid used to soften and thicken the formula. It works on the texture rather than acting on the skin itself.

Does Isopropyl Palmitate clog pores?

It can. Isopropyl Palmitate has one of the higher comedogenic reputations among cosmetic esters, so for acne-prone skin we treat it as a meaningful pore-clogging risk, especially when it sits high in the ingredient list. Plenty of people use it without any trouble, but if you break out easily it is one of the esters worth watching for.

Is Isopropyl Palmitate fungal-acne safe?

Not for fungal-acne-prone skin. It is a fatty (palmitate) ester, and the Malassezia yeast behind fungal acne can feed on that fatty part, so people who manage fungal acne usually avoid it. For everyone else it is a harmless, very common emollient. This is a separate concern from its comedogenic reputation, though here both point the same way.

What is Isopropyl Palmitate on an ingredient list (INCI)?

Isopropyl Palmitate is the INCI name printed on the label. Chemically it is the ester of palmitic acid (a fatty acid) and isopropyl alcohol, which makes it a light, oily liquid used as an emollient and slip agent. It usually appears in the oil part of the ingredient list.

Is Isopropyl Palmitate natural or synthetic?

It is synthetic, though made from partly natural building blocks: palmitic acid (a fatty acid, often plant-derived) joined to isopropyl alcohol. The finished ester does not occur in nature, which is typical for this kind of emollient and not a safety concern.

Sunscreens with Isopropyl Palmitate

We rate 311 sunscreens that contain it, showing the top 10 by overall score:

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