Cetyl alcohol is pretty unassuming. Give it a cursory glance and it looks like white dust—teensy little moderately glossy blobs and specks of nothing all too exciting. Cetyl alcohol is a saturated fatty alcohol derived from coconuts, with a melting point of 49°C (120°F), which still doesn’t sound all that exciting, frankly. I swear you’ll be stoked about it by the end of this post, though!
I added a bag of cetyl alcohol to my DIY cupboard sometime last summer, and ever since then I’ve been dabbling with it; adding a little bit to this lotion or that bar, just for a bit of fun. And, as tends to happen when I introduce a new ingredient to my recipes, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about alternatives. So, in order to help with those questions (and why I typically say no, there is no good substitution), I wanted to do one of my quick guides using cetyl alcohol.
So, why do we use cetyl alcohol? I see it most often in lotions and creams, where it’s usually used around 3%. Cetyl alcohol offers thickening, but more than that, it also improves the slip and glide of lotions. Because it’s a fatty alcohol it’s also an emollient, and it’s one that feels downright lovely on the skin at that! One of the biggest issues with trying to use a wax like beeswax instead of cetyl alcohol is that it only does one of the things cetyl alcohol does—the thickening—and then does the opposite in terms of slip and glide. I’ve found wax in lotions (especially lighter ones) tends to create a tacky end product that’s rather disappointing.
Lotions aside, after this experiment and the project that’ll be out on the 29th of this month, I’m really excited about the 100% oil based applications of cetyl alcohol. It hardens with the strength of a wax, but offers incredible slip and a wonderful, almost silicone-like finish that is beyond luxurious and impossible to achieve with waxes. It is so cool! And cheap! You should definitely get some, ’cause where we’re using it, nothing else compares.
Before we dive into the experiment, let’s talk procedure. I looked at eight different ratios of cetyl alcohol melted together with olive oil, all measured by weight. The first number is always cetyl alcohol, the second is always olive oil. Each part is a single gram, so 3:1 is 3 grams cetyl alcohol, 1 gram olive oil. 1:4 is 1 gram cetyl alcohol, 4 grams olive oil. I weighed the ingredients into individual glass dishes, placed each dish in a hot water bath to melt everything through, and swirled to combine before leaving the dishes to set up for about two hours before beginning the poking and prodding. And now, without further ado—the results!
3:1
Rock solid—I can’t dent this with a finger at all. It is very, very, firm. Running a finger over the top of it doesn’t cause any noticeable melt—it feels dry and almost powdery. I can scrape up some small, flakey shavings with a finger nail. These shavings disappear into my skin when I massage them in, but in a rather odd way. They don’t seem to melt, they just vanish, leaving a powdery, silky dry patch of skin behind. Very cool!
2:1
This one is also super solid—no finger denting happening here, and running a finger over the surface doesn’t cause any melting. I can scrape up larger flakes (almost curls) with my finger nail. When I massage these into my skin they do pretty much the same as in 3:1; the flakes sort of vanish into my skin when I’ve worked them out into small enough bits. The slip is good (especially if you’re used to working with wax—there actually is slip, not skid!). I can tell I applied something to my skin in that it feels softer and smoother, but there isn’t a hint of tack or oiliness; just silky dry smoothness.
1:1
Still very solid; I can’t dent it with a finger pad. This is the first one where I can get a bit of surface melt from running my finger across the surface of it, though, which is neat. It has the creaminess of a beeswax balm, but none of the tack or slow absorption. When I scrape up bits with my finger nail they don’t flake off; they clump together on the nail. That clump is surprisingly soft when I pick it up given how firm the mixture was in the dish on its own. It massages into the skin beautifully; it stays soft and pliable as I mash it around, never liquefying around the edges. The finish on the skin is beautiful; smooth and a bit silicone-y. No tack, fantastic slip.
1:2
This one is still solid, but we’re starting to get some give. It’s also slightly translucent. At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to dent it with my finger, but then my thumb popped through the harder surface layer and I was able to smear the mixture around a bit. It is soft, but doesn’t liquefy on contact with the skin. The slip is divine; I can massage a nugget of it into my skin for upwards of thirty seconds and it just keeps moving in the loveliest, silky manner, leaving a smooth, non-greasy finish. It’s fantastic. Seriously, I feel spoiled.
1:3
This one is definitely translucent, and has a bit of a crystallized appearance to it, which is neat. The surface is still firm, but once I press through it’s clear there’s a harder layer on top and the underbits and soft and a bit gooey. Running my finger over the surface quickly starts to melt the mixture and results in some lovely, silky slip. There’s great slip as I massage a bit into my arm, but it does seem like the slip is reducing in comparison to 1:2—interesting. Perhaps the olive oil has worse slip than the cetyl alcohol? In any event this mixture is still lovely—it’s even a bit oil-gel like.
1:4
This is the first one that definitely begins to liquefy when set on the skin, though it holds its structure fairly well until its rubbed in. The appearance is distinctly crystal like in the dish, and even when I scoop it out (before it starts to melt, at least). That’s pretty cool! I massaged a small dollop into my leg and it absorbed quite quickly, leaving a patch that was obviously not dry like the surrounding skin, but wasn’t shiny and oily looking. Still very silky, no tack or stickiness of any kind.
1:5
A firm surface gives way relatively easily to a translucent oil gel underbelly that is really neat! It’s basically just a thick oil, which I am pretty keen on. The slip and absorption speed are starting to be a lot more olive oil-like rather than cetyl alcohol like, meaning the mixture is starting to absorb faster with less of a silky/powdery finish. It’s still lovely, just much more familiar. If you needed to give a bit of body to an otherwise liquid oil serum or massage oil, this could be the way to do it.
1:6
This one is like 1:5, just moreso. It’s a bit softer, absorbs a bit faster, and liquefies a bit more enthusiastically. Very neat!
Lessons learned:
- Cetyl alcohol is so much more than just a thickening ingredient! It offers the most wonderful slip and finish, even in high concentrations—it’s the complete opposite of wax in that regard
- It’s quite a powerful thickener, though definitely not as strong as the waxes; I’m ok with that as it’s still nice in high concentrations, so I can use lots of it and get the same level of thickening/hardening that I’d get from wax without the awful texture side effects
- It’ll create oil-gel-ish concoctions at 1:3+
- It basically just thickens oils after ~1:3, which is really neat; if you need a liquid oil, just with a bit more viscosity, cetyl alcohol is the thing you want!
- Don’t try to use wax for cetyl alcohol. Especially beeswax. It’s so much tackier and stickier, and that’s not at all what we want when we choose cetyl alcohol!
| Hard? | Solid? | Melt speed | Sticky? | Slip | |
| 3:1 | Very | Yes | It vanishes into the skin but never really melts. | No | Very good |
| 2:1 | Very | Yes | Very slow | No | Great |
| 1:1 | Firm | Yes | Slow | No | Great |
| 1:2 | Firm | Yes, but not once you start handling it | Average | No | Great |
| 1:3 | No | No—viscous | Average | No | Great |
| 1:4 | No | No | Fast | No | Great |
| 1:5 | No | No | Very fast | No | Great |
| 1:6 | No | No | Very fast | No | Great |
Thank you for such a great explanation. How do you think this compares with Cera Bellina wax for slip and gel? Love your blog and love your YouTube Channel. Very inspiring!
It’s MUCH lighter and slippier than cera bellina, but also not as stable/uniform for creating gels; that crystalline texture means you get a sort of applesauce-y consistency that leaves pockets of liquid oil and harder bits.
I love reading these! It really helps seeing the visuals and hearing how it feels and performs on the skin at different levels. Excellent experiment Marie! Thank you!
Marie – have you tried cetyl alcohol in body/shave soap?
Nope!
Can you add a bit of cetyl alcohol to a salve (only waxes and oils)? I use myrica fruit wax and when it’s in the process of cooling, it crystalizes a bit. Will cetyl alcohol help??
Definitely, and maybe 🙂 Try it and see! Happy making 🙂
Thanks, Belinda! Happy to help 🙂 I definitely learn a lot when I do these, too!
This is fascinating, and such valuable information- thanks so much! I really love these quick guide posts 🙂
Thanks, Ryan! Happy formulating 🙂
Your experiments help so much, we might be thinking I wonder what a bit more would do to this but when you do a precise 3:1 to 1:6, we have all the stats ready done for us. Thanks.
Thanks, Aisha! I’m glad you find these useful 🙂
I agree with Belinda – these experiments really help us understand the products we are using better. I’ve been using cetyl alcohol in my lotions and now I better understand why I like it. Thanks, Marie!
No worries! Happy making 🙂
Thank you Marie for such great information. Your teaching approach with your science interest makes what you share so worthwhile and helpful. I like to understand why I use certain ingredients and how safe they are and your information is just what I look for. Thank you.
Thanks Gale! Happy making 🙂
Marie,
Thank you for another great post!
Based on your cetyl alcohol vs beeswax comments, can I eliminate beeswax from my deodorant recipe and incorporate cetyl alcohol in its place? If yes, would the amount be the same (or very similar)?
It should be possible, but you will have to experiment to figure out precisely how. I have found that the crystalline effect when used in higher concentrations can create pockets of oil that remain liquid, so you may not want to go for a 100% swap, but that’s just a thought. Start small, take notes!
Thank you for getting back to me.
Don’t make me wait til the end of the month!
Muahahahahah 😀
Thanks so much for this Marie! I’ve been using cetyl alcohol but didn’t realize just how awesome this product is. It’s a total game changer!
Me either! Now I want it in alll the things!
I see cetearyl alcohol sometimes available. Are they interchangeable in a recipe such as lotion?
I’m afraid I’ve never worked with it as a standalone ingredient so I’m not really sure; I’m only familiar with it as an ingredient in emulsifying waxes. According to Susan, who has worked with it as a standalone, it sounds like they should work pretty well as alternatives 🙂
I really liked this ..the visuals were great ! I love how you took time to do this..it is a very good lesson . I like working with the ceytl alcohol ..it is so nice in your Heavenly Cocoa Lotion…I have modded that recipe using different Essential Oils a few times already! And I believe the ceytl alcohol is the reason for my love of this lotion too! Thanks Marie my mentor ! 🙂
Thanks, Becky! I’m so glad you found this useful and that you’re enjoying that lovely lotion 🙂
Do you believe it can be a substitute to beeswax on a deodorant recipe?
oooh! what an interesting idea!
It should be possible, but you will have to experiment to figure out precisely how. I have found that the crystalline effect when used in higher concentrations can create pockets of oil that remain liquid, so you may not want to go for a 100% swap, but that’s just a thought. Start small, take notes!
This is a wonderful information. Thank you for doing this experiment! I have a better understanding of cetyl alcohol now. I wonder how cetyl alcohol and stearic acid feel or work differently on skin? The local store I use has stearic acid but not cetyl alcohol 🙁
I’ll have to do one with stearic acid in the future… but you could, too 😉
Thank you, Marie!
Just bought some finally, last week. It’s popping up in recipes and I figured if I want to have fun, I’d better grab some. It’s lonely not having all the ingredients the cool kids are using.
I love your ratio tutorials.
Woo! I also love how inexpensive this ingredient is 😀
Can this be used as a substitute for beeswax in lipstick making?
Perhaps for some of it, but not all; it’s quite thin and powdery, and we want our lipsticks to be at least a little bit thick and creamy so the colour applies well and stays put.
I’ve been using it mixed with BTMS 50 in lotion. Is the BTMS unnecessary when using cetyl alcohol? My thinking was that both offer different (though slight) properties.
BTMS 50 = emulsifier. Cetyl alcohol = thickener. Drop the BTMS 50 and your lotion won’t emulsify!
Talk about your epic brain fart. I was buying this awesome shampoo and conditioner from this shop in Shangarila. They told me they would no longer be selling shampoo and conditioners, so got my hands on the ingredients, and when I saw the ingredients, I went to ask them for more specifics regarding each ingredient and I mean come on. “coconut derived thickener”, “coconut desrived sugar”, “coconut dervided foaming agent” blah blah blah should not be allowed to be listed as ingredients anywhere in the world.
My hair loved it and am actually able to go a full day and a half without washing my hair before it begins to look like rubbish.
Now looking at your results, I might be one step closer now to figuring out mkaing my own shampoo and conditioner!
I tried swaping out the cetyl alcohol for mango butter in one of my lotion recipes and good lord! What a difference! I was using cetyl alcohol at 3% so swapped in mango butter at 5% and reduced the water. What a difference! The lotion was very runny which worked great in a pump bottle! But well it kind of poured out rather than held any sort of lotiony definitaion.
Anyways, I’m rambling. I love these posts! They are soooo informative and useful! And helpful! Thank you!
Pffft, that’s not an ingredient list! That’s a wish list or something. Tsk, tsk! 😛 I’m sorry your shampoo is going to die 🙁
Perhaps I should do this experiment with different % in lotions. Hmmmmmm.
I just purchased my first bag of cetyl alcohol. Looking forward to playing with it.
Have fun! It’s a pretty groovy (and inexpensive, which is nice) ingredient 🙂
Marie, the only question i have is: is Cetyl Alcohol dangerous, or toxic for your skin? Will it acumulate on your skin?
Cetyl alcohol is very safe and washes off fine with soap or some sort of foaming cleanser. I don’t work with dangerous or toxic ingredients! Also… you can google these things yourself 😉 It’s always best to learn to do your own research, don’t take my word on everything!
Hi Marie,
love your recipes and your ideas, your book and also your dog, she is sooo sweet!
Anywho I ordered some cetyl alcohol and made your Lemon Chiffon Body and Hand Lotion. I had made it before but without the CA. Now, two days after, the lotion has little, not sure how to call them, like broken pieces of sticks …
to me actually it looked like smallish pieces of plastic.
Thought maybe the container, although that is washed out. Then, for the sake of science, I tried one. Can’t taste anything, no wonder there, but it seems to be something crystallized.
The only other thing I changed from your recipe was leave out the silk and put some Ectoin into it. But have been using Ectoin several times in lotions already and never anything happened.
The CA I bought is called Cetyl Alcohol Wax Beads.
Could I have heated the CA too much? Cooled it too slow, too fast, should have cooled it faster …
Maybe the wax part in those beads?
I know it’s a lot to ask of you, some diagnosis like that, but maybe you have an idea. Thank you very much!
Hey! So, this is all very odd. Typically any sort of tiny dot or lump in a concoction is a solid butter going grainy, BUT there are no solid butters in that lotion AND I’ve never had that happen in a lotion—just 100% anhydrous products. If your containers were from a good source they should be clean when you get them, so I doubt that is it. CA also has such a low melting point (49°C) that it seems unlikely you wouldn’t have melted it properly, otherwise your e-wax likely wouldn’t have melted either. What is the INCI of your CA? It should just be cetyl alcohol. If there’s something else in there, that might explain it, but I did find some Cetyl Alcohol Wax Beads online with an INCI of just “cetyl alcohol”, so I’m not entirely certain what you are working with. I also have never worked with Ectoin (or even heard of it), so that’s another variable I can’t really comment on. Hmm. Odd!
Thank you Marie!
I have given it some more thought and I am pretty sure it’s the Ectoin (supposed to be anti aging. I don’t really care about these things too much, so I use it in handcream, hahaha, but am always curious). Thank you very much! Have a great day!
Can you tell us where you got the glass dishes from?
These specific ones are from a Canadian kitchen supply shop, so unless you live in Toronto that’s not much help, but glass prep cups are widely available and super useful!
I didn’t realize cetyl alcohol was derived from coconuts. I’m one of those rare people who can’t enjoy all the coconut goodness. I can’t eat it or apply it topically. Coconut derivatives are in nearly EVERYTHING for sensitive skin! I’ve found a soap containing palm kernel oil that works for me.
Is there something similar to cetyl alcohol that’s derived from something other than coconut?
Aww no! I’m afraid I don’t know of any alternatives, simply because they’d all likely be made from coconut or palm, too 🙁
Hello!
I have a question about sourcing cetyl alcohol. I’ve looked into some suppliers and so far, everyone who has emailed me back say that their cetyl alcohol is made from palm oil or palm and coconut oil. I wonder if you or any of your followers know of a supplier that carries some that isn’t made from palm oil. Any help would be greatly appreciated. 🙂
Sadly I’ve got nothing for you, but maybe another reader will 🙂
Hi Marie! Can cetyl alcohol be used 1 for 1 substitution for beeswax in the cream bronzer from your book?
No—the entire base would have to be re-developed to use cetyl alcohol and I suspect it would negatively impact the application and adhesion as it would create a thinner, slicker final product.
This comparison has been wonderful!! I’m wondering if I were to put a little in my whipped shea butter would it give it more stability? Also would balms/salves benefit from using this as part of the beeswax? Thank you!
Yay! Yes to both; I’m actually experimenting with the second one right now 🙂 It is helping reduce the skid that can come with lots of beeswax, and is creating a faster absorbing product!
I just added 3 percent to my lotion bar recipe and I have to say it is amazing!! It feels silky, powdery and cut the greasy feeling completely!! Thank you for sharing!!
Ps.. do you know of a written guideline for how much to added for different items?
Woo! Cetyl alcohol fans, unite! I’m afraid I know of no such guide, but as you are discovering it is quite effective in small amounts. Have fun!
So,this is a call out to all peeps who may’ve worked w/those ‘cetyl alcohol wax beads’ that Danica bought? i know the INCI says ‘cetyl alcohol’ only, but i’m pretty sure i had a similar problem, & this was my experience: so, the 1st lb i bought was,for sure the c.a. that Marie extols the virtues of in her awesome c.a. to oil ratio-comparison..the 2nd lb i purchased was on amazon & it said C.A. Wax Flakes on the package, even though the INCI just said c.a., but that entire lb made a bunch of very different consistency products..i wasn’t thrilled; then my regular wholesaler began to carry plain c.a., the righteous & wondrous, & i bought a lb & i’m in heaven again!
i certainly could very well be delusional, & maybe it was the Ecotin in Danica’s lotion, but i am convinced there’s more to it!
Please post any observations here that you’ve had regarding this matter, if any..b/c i’m just so curious if that entire lb of c.a.’s worth of lotions etc were just crap b/c they were crap, as vs. that specific variety being some waxy form of c.a.?
i know i should bug the beauty brains about this & i promise i will if there’s any there there.
Thanks guys! Thank you Marie!
Muchlove, suki
Thanks for the update, Suki! How odd indeed. I will keep an ear out for any relevant information 🙂
Wow!! This is such detail info and I thank you sooo much for it. I just found som CA that bought months ago and forgot about it so I’ll be using it in my lotion tomorrow.
I sure hope it is not the useless kind Suki mentions!!!
Gracias Marie!!
Have fun! It’s such a fun ingredient 😀
I need to know how much cetyl alcohol to use for a 200ml leave in conditioner. I’m hoping for a lotion like consistency but its choppy. Please help ASAP my product are going bad.
Unfortunately this is an impossible question to answer—something akin to “how much salt should I add to a soup to make it taste good”? In order to answer that question you’d need to know a lot more about what was in the soup! If the product is going bad, though, cetyl alcohol isn’t going to fix it—and if it’s an emulsion it is too late to add any. Perhaps try this recipe?
Hi Marie,
I love your content. I follow you on YouTube and IG. I’m new to the skin care world and I have an Etsy shop. Things are kind of slow and average from month to month. During my down time, I am reformating my products and replace harsh Ingredients with better ones.
I used cetyl at 4% and olivem 1000 at 5% last night. My lotion had solidify in minutes of combining the water and oil phase. That has never happened.
My current recipes is 5% Emulsifying Wax and 3% Beeswax, and I’ve used that recipe for months. That mixture stayed a liquid for at least and hour and slowly solidify. Is it the Cetyl Alcohol or the amount that I’m using?
FYI, I want to slow get away from Emulsifying Wax and move over to Olivem 1000.
Hey! So, Olivem1000 tends to set up faster than e-wax and polawax, especially if you aren’t using a high shear mixer like an immersion blender. 4% cetyl alcohol is also a pretty decent amount. The size of your oil phase will also be a factor, but you haven’t listed that. If you take a look at some of the formulas I’ve shared using Olivem1000 you can start to get a second hand idea of how it performs 🙂 Happy making!
Awesome! Thank you. I apologize for all of the errors in my message above. I must have been tired when I sent that message to you a while ago.
I did an experiment with cetyl alcohol tonight. I’ve been wanting to create a solid perfume, but dislike the waxy and oily feel beeswax always leaves behind. After making the Snowy Dawn Luminizer, I realized that’s what I wanted the solid perfume to feel like upon application. Your experiment with the cetyl alcohol/oil ratios was brilliant and gave me an idea of what to expect. First try and I’m loving the results. 1:1 ratio of fractionated coconut oil and cetyl alcohol, plus a tiny bit of amber paste from Kuumba Made (very potent and lovely scent). Poured this into a regular sized lip balm tube. The end result is a hard balm that glides so beautifully on the skin, leaving behind a dry powder finish with zero oily/waxy feel. I love it! Off to choose the next scent–either Egyptian musk or Amber & Sandalwood 🙂
OOooh, SO COOL! I love this 😀 Thank you so much for sharing, Karen!
Wow I can’t believe this came up when Searched it! How cool what a find your site is! I can’t wait to dig in!
I’m glad you found it helpful! Welcome & happy making 🙂
Super helpful blog post, thanks! It helped me to adjust a recipe to suit my personal consistency preferences, yay!
I’m so thrilled you found it helpful!
HI THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THESE DETAILS, I WAS TRYING TO FORMULATE A CREAM , IN OIL PHASE 2GRAMS CETYL ALCOHOL, 8GRAMS OLIVE OIL AND E-WAX 4 GRAMS AND KOJIC DIPALMITATE, WHAT I FOUND IS THE CETYL ALCOHOL IS NOT MELTING FULLY SOME CRYSTAL LIKE PARTICALS ARE THERE EVEN WITH 85C TEMPERATURE, CAN YOU ADVISE
THANKS
I really doubt it’s the cetyl alcohol given it melts below 50°C; have you tried making a version without the kojic? That’s the only ingredient in that list I haven’t worked with, so that is where I would start in narrowing down the issue. Happy making!
Hi Marie,
Have you ever tried having both stearic acid and cetyl alcohol in an anhydrous product? What do you think of having some stearic acid to replace some of the beeswax for its higher melting point and also add some cetyl alcohol for its slip property?
Yup, many times 🙂 Here’s one. I love the skin feel of the two blended!
Hi.. I love this experiment. And am thinking of doing my own with melt and pour soap. Since I can’t get any suspension bases here. Any input before I set up this experiment. Many thanks. Aneesa.
What a great idea! I would probably start with a 1:1 to give you an idea of which direction to take the experiment. If 1:1 is WAY too much, then start experimenting with thinning it out. If it’s way too little, then head in the opposite direction. Good luck & happy making!
I use 5% beeswax in my emulsifying sugar scrubs and I dont like the waxy feel on my skin after using it.(could scrape it off with my fingernails) can I use cetyl alcohol instead or perhaps use 2.5% beeswax and cetyl alcohol? I also use ewax and stearic acid.
Honestly, I would drop the beeswax altogether and replace that hardening with a blend of cetyl alcohol and stearic acid 🙂
Hi Marie, I use stearic acid at 8% already, so how much should I increase it to to drop the beeswax and incorporate cetyl alcohol? I’m in the Caribbean so it gets pretty hot.
You’ll have to do those experiments yourself—it’s already snowing here, so I can’t offer much help!
Thanks so much for this post. This experiment came to my mind when I designed and made cetyl alcohol thickened oilgel to milk scrub yesterday. It’s quite similar than Skinchakra’s sample in terms of look and action + far more easy to make and customize (used squeeze bottle).
Hi! Lovely post.
Can Cetyl Alcohol be used to thicken Hair Oils? It simply will be easier to ship infused hair oils if they are thick.
It depends on the concentration; I find lower concentrations tend to settle out/split. Test it and see 🙂
hi marie! i would like to know what is the difference between cetyl alcohol and cetearyl alcohol, or which one is better. thanks
Hi! The first part of your question can be answered by comparing this post to the similar one I did on cetearyl alcohol. The second part of your question is like asking “which is better, butter or oil”—it’s all a big “it depends”!
When you do your ratios – you’re using oil to cetyl. In a recipe, we use other things like silicones, butters, liquid emulsifiers….. When considering ratios, do we take all these other “oil phase” liquids into consideration?
Depending on the formulation it can be a lot more complex than that, especially if it’s an emulsion and different phase sizes and emulsifier types are also at play. You’ll really have to do your own experiments with all those different variables to see 🙂 Happy making!
I put a tiny amount of beeswax in my pure body butters just to bring the melting point up and because I like the protective layer it leaves on your body that seals the moisture in. If I replace the beeswax with cetyl alcohol will I still have that protective layer or should I used both beeswax and cetyl alcohol together? It would be nice to feel silky but still have that beeswax protection.