SUCROSE STEARATE

📋 Quick facts

Description: SUCROSE STEARATE — gentle emulsifier (sugar-derived).

All Functions: gentle emulsifier (sugar-derived)

Quick Facts:

• Category: surfactant

Proven Benefits At A Glance:

• Sucrose stearate is a mild, natural surfactant used to stabilize skincare formulations
• It can create both thick creams and lightweight fluid textures with the same basic recipe
• Formulations using sucrose stearate remain stable over long periods without needing synthetic additives
• It performs comparably to lecithin (a common natural skincare ingredient) for delivering active ingredients into skin
• At just 5% concentration, it can create complex internal structures that support ingredient delivery

⚗️ Chemical Overview

Sucrose monostearate is a long-chain fatty acid. See also: Fatty acids, sucrose esters (annotation moved to); Sucrose fatty acid esters (annotation moved to).

Source(s): ChEBI, PubChem, 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

Sucrose stearate is classified as a non-ionic surfactant, meaning it has no electrical charge and is gentle on skin (Pharmaceutics, 2011). Its main practical advantages in skincare formulations center on stability and texture control. #1: The ingredient can be used to create either thick semi-solid emulsions or thin fluid nanoemulsions—tiny droplets suspended in water—simply by adjusting how the formula is made, without changing the ingredients themselves. This flexibility means skincare brands can offer different textures while using the same core formula (Pharmaceutics, 2011). #2: Sucrose stearate creates remarkably stable formulations. Research directly compared it to lecithin, another popular natural surfactant, and found that sucrose stearate-based systems were superior in terms of how well it stabilizes droplets and how stable the formula remains over time without separating or degrading (Eur J Pharm Biopharm, 2011).

Unlike lecithin, which tends to clump together and break down chemically, sucrose stearate maintains a more uniform internal structure (Eur J Pharm Biopharm, 2011). #3: When it comes to actual skin delivery of lipophilic (fat-soluble) active ingredients, sucrose stearate performs comparably to lecithin-based systems (Eur J Pharm Biopharm, 2011). This matters because the whole point of these formulations is to get beneficial ingredients into the skin effectively. #4: At very low concentrations—just 5% by weight—sucrose stearate organizes itself into a network-like internal structure within the formulation, yet this complex architecture doesn’t block the release of active ingredients into skin (Pharmaceutics, 2011).

In other words, the ingredient creates a sophisticated internal structure that’s simultaneously good for stability and doesn’t hinder ingredient delivery. The research base, however, is limited to laboratory studies; all cited work examined formulations in controlled conditions rather than real-world use on living skin.

📄 Related Research

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

• Klang V et al. (2011). Semi-solid Sucrose Stearate-Based Emulsions as Dermal Drug Delivery Systems. Pharmaceutics.
• Klang V et al. (2011). Development of sucrose stearate-based nanoemulsions and optimisation through γ-cyclodextrin. Eur J Pharm Biopharm.
• Raison-Peyron N et al. (2020). Allergic contact dermatitis to sucrose stearate in a facial moisturizing cream. Contact Dermatitis.
• Klang V et al. (2010). Enhancement of stability and skin permeation by sucrose stearate and cyclodextrins in progesterone nanoemulsions. Int J Pharm.
• Klang V et al. (2012). In vitro vs. in vivo tape stripping: validation of the porcine ear model and penetration assessment of novel sucrose stearate emulsions. Eur J Pharm Biopharm.

🧴 Products Containing SUCROSE STEARATE

• Schwarzkopf & Henkel taft Styling Wax Matt
• DR. Hauschka Kosmetik, Dr. Hauschka Lait crème pour le corps lavande bois de santal
• ACO Kids Active Sun Lotion SPF 50+
• up & up lotion
• Burts Bees Baby Sunflower Lotion
• Bioderma Atoderm intensive
• Shiseido Pureness Gel-Crème hydratant Shiseido
• burt’s bees baby nourishing lotion original
• CANNUKA Gel Balm Cleanser
• Kiehl’s Ultra facial cream
• Nuxe Crème détox anti-pollution et éclat – Bio Beauté
• Bioderma ABCDerm crème raffermissante
• Chanvria Crème visage
• Bioderma Atoderm
• Les Délices, Nocibé Les Délices Barbe à papa lait exfoliant pour le corps
• Mustela Stelatopia
• Mustela Stelatopia Crème Émolliente
• Mixa Lait corps surgras anti-irritations
• L’Oréal, L’Oreal Luxe, Kiehl’s Ultra facial cream
• adidas dry power
• Speick Men After Shave Balsam Sensitiv
• Avril Gommage Visage Enzymatique
• Gommage sublime
• bioderma crème
• Bioderma Créaline Défensive
• Qiriness Baume Divin
• PHYT’S Masque Hydra Instant
• Parasol Crème solaire Lait Corps Spf 50
• 900 dentifrice arôme menthe extra fraiche
• 900 care dentifrice arôme menthe douce
• La Rosée Crème hydratante au beurre de karité BIO
• 900.care Dentifrice arôme menthe extra-fraiche
• 900.care Dentifrice à croquer – Menthe douce
• Sedbergh Soap Company All Over Lotion Unscented
• tetesept Wärme Pflege-Balsam
• alverde, dm Cremeöl-Lotion INTENSIV
• Scholl Crème réparatrice pieds très secs
• Scholl Velvet Smooth Crème hydratante quotidienne
• upcircle face moisturiser
• Cosmica Kids Active Sun Spray, SPF30