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Older ingredient lists label it as "Octyl Stearate" and it turns up the most often in makeup products.

Industry data shows usage concentration goes up to ~40% in makeup and up to 10% in moisturizer or sunscreen.

Human repeat insult patch tests with a 25.9% lip gloss and 38.8% eyebrow pencil found no sensitization. A formula with 7.6% was also not an irritant, sensitizer, and was found to be non-phototoxic across 56, 19, and 27 subjects respectively.

True contact allergy to it is rare.

This ingredient shows up on a lot of "pore-clogging" lists but there's no real evidence behind that. It doesn't even have a comedogenic rating from an actual study; the numbers you'll find online come from blogs citing other blogs.

Ratings for other ingredients mostly come from a 1980s rabbit ear test. This test doesn't translate well to human skin or to real products because the ingredient sits at a much lower percentage.

Some people still find it breaks them out. So if that's you, definitely trust your skin.

The Malassezia yeast has been found to grow in the presence of fatty acids, fatty acid esters, and fatty alcohols with chains longer than 12 carbons. Ethylhexyl Stearate releases stearic acid, an 18-carbon chain, which is right inside that range; this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!