Behenyl Alcohol

Description

Behenyl Alcohol is a natural, vegetable sourced long chain (C22) fatty alcohol used to regulate viscosity in formulations. It functions as an emolient,  thickener and stabilizer and may be used as a co-emulsifier.   It also serves as a hydrating ingredient and has opacifying nature.  It may be used in anhydrous formulations such as ointments, body butters and scrubs, but can also be found in deodorant, lipstick, foundation, and hair care products.  It’s considered a fatty alcohol (not related to drying forms of alcohol.) and is supplied as a white, waxy solid.  Typically derived from Rapeseed Oils (Brassica napus) Behenyl alcohol is classified as non-palm derived.

Behenyl Alcohol also known as 1-docosanol, and is a saturated fatty alcohol with 22 Carbon atoms. is produced mainly from vegetable sources. Production is via chemical reactions typical of the industrial process of fatty alcohol production.

Formulating elements such as opacity and thickness are an important part of the formulating process. For the most part, these elements are purely sensory. However, the thickness of a product can have a mild impact on how evenly key ingredients are spread across the skin.  As an opacifying agent and a thickener, behenyl alcohol can be added to clear or transparent cosmetic formulations to render them more resistant to visible light. This results in a creamy-looking formulation, think your facial moisturizer with that rich- light texture and colour.

Behenyl alcohol’s thickening property allows products to achieve a more desirable, spreadable texture. Thus, formulators will add behenyl alcohol to formulations to create a thick, smooth, and creamy product.  Behenyl alcohol produces thicker products than CetoStearyl  Stearyl or Cetyl alcohol which are fatty alcohols extensively used in the cosmetic industry but in the APAC area are extensively derived from palm sources.