Glyceryl Stearate Se
Explained
Glyceryl Stearate SE is a self-emulsifying (SE) form of Glyceryl Stearate. It comes with a small amount of soap (usually potassium or sodium stearate) that gives it the "SE" part.
That soap lets it pull oil and water together on its own which is why it shows up as an emulsifier, thickener, and emollient.
Industry survey data shows this ingredient is used around 1-5% but Glyceryl Stearate goes as high at 17% in a leave-on deodorant.
Safety-wise, it's pretty boring: it's been deemed safe for topical use in 1982 and again most recently in 2021 by the CIR. Human repeat insult patch tests come back non-irritating, non-sensitizing, non-phototoxic, and non-photoallergenic.
This ingredient does carry a comedogenic rating of 3 from the old rabbit-ear assay. Just remember testing finished products in humans showed that formulas built with "comedogenic" ingredients are not necessarily comedogenic themselves. It's worth patch testing if you're breakout prone, and always listen to your skin.
The Malassezia yeast can potentially metabolize the stearic acid in this ingredient, so it may not be fungal acne safe.
Allergy is rare: a 310-patient patch test study of common emulsifiers found this ingredient was not a meaningful reactor. Isolated case reports do exist so a true contact allergy is possible but uncommon.
See all 2,822 products with Glyceryl Stearate Se
