Body & Beauty / Compounds / Isopropyl stearate

Isopropyl stearate on your skin: a safety profile

Low risk

Safety profile for Isopropyl stearate relevant to people.

What is isopropyl stearate?

The IUPAC name is isopropyl octadecanoate.

Also known as: isopropyl octadecanoate, IPS, stearic acid isopropyl ester, isopropyl ester of stearic acid.

IUPAC name
isopropyl octadecanoate
CAS number
112-10-7
Molecular formula
C21H42O2
Molecular weight
322.57 g/mol
SMILES
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC[N+](C)(C)C.[Cl-]
PubChem CID
8154

Risk for people

Low risk

Regulatory consensus

2 regulatory and scientific bodies have classified Isopropyl stearate. The classifications differ — that's the data.

AgencyYearClassificationNotes
EU_Cosmetics_Regulation——Approved cosmetic ingredient; no concentration limit
FDA_OTC——Approved for cosmetic use; widely used, well-established safety

Regulators apply different standards of evidence — animal-data weighting, exposure-pattern assumptions, epidemiological power thresholds — which is why two scientific bodies can review the same data and reach different conclusions. The disagreement is the data.

Where you encounter isopropyl stearate

  • sunscreen
  • moisturizer
  • body_lotion
  • foundation

Safer alternatives

Lower-risk approaches that achieve a similar outcome to Isopropyl stearate:

  • Plant-derived oils with established safety profiles (jojoba, squalane, shea butter)
    Trade-offs: Consumer preference for 'natural' label; many natural fragrance compounds are potent allergens (limonene, linalool, eugenol); 'natural' ≠ 'safe'; often more expensive than synthetic equivalents.
    Relative cost: 2-5× conventional
  • Ceramide-based formulations (biomimetic skin barrier repair)
    Trade-offs: Alternative emollient; skin feel, spreadability, and occlusion properties differ; comedogenicity should be assessed for facial use; stability in final formulation needs verification.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×
  • Glycerin-based humectant systems as partial replacement
    Trade-offs: Direct chemical substitution requires verification that the replacement does not introduce new hazards (regrettable substitution). Conduct full hazard assessment of proposed alternative before adoption.
    Relative cost: 1.2-2×

Frequently asked questions

What products contain isopropyl stearate?

Isopropyl stearate appears in: sunscreen; moisturizer; body lotion.

See Isopropyl stearate in the body app

Look up products containing isopropyl stearate, compare to alternatives, and explore the full data record.

Open in body View raw API data

Sources (2)
  1. PubChem Compound CID 8154 — database
  2. ATSDR Toxicological Profile — CAS 112-10-7 — reference

Reference data, not professional advice. Aggregates publicly available regulatory and scientific data; not a substitute for veterinary, medical, legal, or regulatory advice. Why we built ALETHEIA →