beauty
cleaning
industrial

Hydroxystearic acid

CAS 8039-23-4

Also registered as 5 other CAS numbers

36377-33-0 · 78642-86-1 · 860114-96-1 · 1629856-01-4 · 106-14-9

Concern score

Not assessed — no hazard data yet.

Hydroxystearic acid in plain language

What it is: Also known as 12-HYDROXYOCTADECANOIC acid · 12-HYDROXYSTEARIC acid · 12-HYDROXYSTEARATE · DL-12-HYDROXYOCTADECANOIC acid · Octadecanoic acid, 12-HYDROXY- · Stearic acid, 12-HYDROXY-
Show all 21 names
12-Hydroxy octadecanoic acid · 12-Hydroxystearinsaure · 12-hydroxy stearic acid · ADK Stab LS 12 · Acide 12-hydroxystearique · Barolub FTO · Casid hsa · Cerit Fac 3 · Ceroxin GL · DL-12-Hydroxystearic acid · Hydrofol acid 200 · Loxiol G 21 · Mixed fatty acid · UNII-933ANU3H2S · acido 12-hidroxiestearico
What it does: Used in cosmetics as an emulsifier and a cleansing agent.
Emulsifying
Cleansing
Antioxidant
Emulsifier
Surfactant
Lubricant
Is it a concern?: We haven't assessed a concern score for this ingredient yet. It is listed for cosmetic use in the EU.

Regulation

No restrictions found. Hydroxystearic acid appears in these published regulatory listings.

Recorded in these product areas

Found in consumer products
Beauty
Cleaning
Industrial

EUCosIngActiveListed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.
- Listed in CosIng inventory for cosmetic use.Source →
USEPAcommercial use observedEPA CPDat observed this chemical in 101 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Vehicle, Personal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Emulsifier, Cleaning agent.
- EPA CPDat observed this chemical in 101 composition records across product categories including Laboratory supplies, Vehicle, Personal care. EPA CPDat classifies this chemical for functional uses including Surfactant (surface active agent), Emulsifier, Cleaning agent.Source →
USFDAlisted in openFDA substanceopenFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.
- openFDA substance registry classifies this ingredient as chemical.Source →

Expert safety opinions

No expert opinion on file for Hydroxystearic acid. These are the independent scientific bodies that assess ingredients like this one; we show an opinion only when a record we hold cites it.

SCCS
EU Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety
No SCCS opinion on file.
CIR
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (US expert panel)
No CIR safety assessment on file.

Evidence & sources

No graded research studies for Hydroxystearic acid yet. This record is compiled from the published data sources below — registries and regulatory listings, not study findings.

6 data sources

Where this comes from

CosIng
regulatory · updated 2026-09-23
Open →
EPA Chemical and Products Database
exposure · updated September 2013
Open →
EPA DSSTox Identifiers
chemistry · updated 2025-12-29
Open →
FDA GSRS UNII
registry · updated 2026-02-26
Open →
openFDA Substance
registry · updated 2026-05-24
Open →
PubChem Live Enrichment
chemistry · updated 2026-05-17
Open →

Reference links (1)

Openfda substance

chemicalregister.com

Read →

Suitability

Context-specific fit derived from published classifications and the current ingredient evidence profile.

Fragrance avoidance

Nothing to weigh for this context yet.

No signal in this context

We have no published hazard signal for this ingredient, so we cannot say how it behaves in this context — that is missing evidence, not a clean result.

Where it has been recorded

How often EPA CPDat has listed Hydroxystearic acid in a product composition. These are source records, not Greenveil catalog products.

Source records

101

Named organisations

Laboratory suppliesVehiclePersonal care

Typical roles

EmulsifyingCleansingAntioxidantEmulsifierSurfactantLubricant

See products using Hydroxystearic acid →

Catalog

Found in these products

Their ingredient lists include Hydroxystearic acid; each product's own rating depends on its whole formula, so it is shown on the product page, not here.

See all 75 →Find products without it →