HEXADECYL PALMITATE

📋 Quick facts

Description: HEXADECYL PALMITATE — fragrance.

All Functions: fragrance

Quick Facts:

• Category: fragrance

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Hexadecyl palmitate is a naturally occurring waxy compound
• Research on this ingredient is extremely limited in skincare contexts
• Available research focuses on electronics applications, not skincare benefits
• No consumer skincare studies support any skin benefits at this time

⚗️ Chemical Overview

Palmityl palmitate is a palmitate ester resulting from the formal condensation of palmitic acid with palmityl alcohol. It is used as a thickener and emollient in cosmetics. It has a role as a metabolite. It is functionally related to a hexadecan-1-ol. cetyl palmitate has been reported in Triticum aestivum, Psidium guajava, and Lobophytum with data available. See also: Hexadecanoic acid, ester with hexadecanol (annotation moved to).

Source(s): PubChem, LOTUS – the natural products occurrence database, ChEBI, via PubChem

📊 Comedogenicity

🛡️ Safety rating

Safety tier is a starting heuristic from regulatory status and comedogenic rating, not a dermatological verdict — see our Terms for the full disclaimer. Research confidence reflects how many real cited studies back this ingredient, not the strength of their findings.

🌍 Regulatory Status

💧 Skin Type Compatibility

⚠️ Don’t Combine With

📚 Research & Evidence

🔬 The Science

Hexadecyl palmitate is a naturally occurring small molecule with waxy properties (Mater Adv, 2026). However, we need to be direct: the only published research we found on this ingredient describes its use in electronics manufacturing—specifically as a dielectric material in organic field-effect transistors, which are experimental semiconductor devices. This research has nothing to do with skincare or skin health. The study examined how the compound performs when dissolved in chloroform and applied using specialized coating techniques in laboratory settings (Mater Adv, 2026). There are currently no peer-reviewed skincare studies, efficacy trials, or skin safety data available for hexadecyl palmitate in consumer products.

Without skincare-specific research, we cannot claim this ingredient moisturizes, protects skin, reduces wrinkles, or provides any other beauty benefit.

📄 Related Research

Matched by search — not necessarily verified support for every statement above.

• Api AM et al. (2026). RIFM fragrance ingredient safety assessment, hexadecyl palmitate, CAS Registry Number 540-10-3. Food Chem Toxicol.
• Irimia CV et al. (2026). Natural, small molecule aliphatics (cholesterol and hexadecyl palmitate) as dielectrics for low-voltage organic field effect transistors. Mater Adv.

🧴 Products Containing HEXADECYL PALMITATE