Isoamyl Laurate in Skincare: What It Does and Why We Use It
Isoamyl laurate is a lightweight emollient: a background ingredient that helps a cream spread nicely and leaves skin feeling soft and silky. It will not be the star of any routine, and it does not need to be.
What is isoamyl laurate?
It is an alkyl ester, made by joining an alcohol (isoamyl alcohol) to a fatty acid (lauric acid). The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) describes this group of esters as most often used to condition skin, and its assessment lists isoamyl laurate by name.
What does isoamyl laurate do for skin?
It adds to the feel of a cream: how it spreads, how it absorbs and how soft skin feels afterwards. That is a texture job. We do not claim it treats or improves a skin concern.
Why we use isoamyl laurate
It is in our Retinol Eye Cream with Vitamin C & Peptides, alongside cetyl alcohol, shea butter and other emollients. We use it for a light, silky feel.
The eye area is delicate, and a cream for it should spread easily without any fuss. A lightweight ester suits that brief.
Who is isoamyl laurate good for?
Most people using ordinary skincare. The CIR found these esters safe when formulated to be non-irritating, which puts the weight on the finished product rather than the ingredient name.
If you have reacted to a cream with a fatty ester before, or you are testing a new product near your eyes, patch test first. Our patch testing guide explains how.
How do you use it?
By using the finished product as directed. Follow the label for how much and how often, and keep eye products out of direct contact with your eyes.
What does it pair with?
Anything. In a cream, emollient esters sit alongside oils, butters and fatty alcohols, like shea butter and sweet almond oil.
Is isoamyl laurate safe?
The CIR Expert Panel concluded that the alkyl esters in its assessment are safe in the present practices of use and concentration, and when formulated to be non-irritating.
Where the report has data on related laurate esters, it is reassuring: ethylhexyl laurate did not irritate rabbit skin or eyes and was not a sensitiser in a guinea pig test, and isodecyl laurate at 30% in liquid paraffin was not an irritant or a sensitiser. Those are animal studies on related compounds, so they support the group conclusion rather than proving anything about isoamyl laurate on human skin.
Not sure which routine fits your skin? Take the skincare quiz.
FAQ
Is isoamyl laurate a silicone?
No. It is an ester made from an alcohol and a fatty acid. Silicones are a different chemical family.
Is isoamyl laurate safe?
The CIR Expert Panel found the alkyl esters it assessed safe as used and when formulated to be non-irritating.
Is isoamyl laurate plant-derived?
The ingredient name does not say. It depends on how the supplier makes the alcohol and the fatty acid.
Is it the same as lauric acid?
No. Lauric acid is one of its two building blocks. The finished ester behaves differently from the free acid.
Related ingredients
Cetyl alcohol, shea butter, sweet almond oil and hemp seed oil.
Sources
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel. Safety Assessment of Alkyl Esters as Used in Cosmetics. International Journal of Toxicology 2015;34(suppl 2):5S-69S. Journal record
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review. Amended Safety Assessment of Alkyl Esters as Used in Cosmetics, tentative amended report, 18 December 2012. CIR report
