Isopropyl Lanolate

Isopropyl Lanolate is what you get when the fatty acids in lanolin (sheep wool wax) are separated out and reacted with isopropyl alcohol.

The result is a soft, buttery ester that melts at around skin temperature. This makes it a nice emollient and good pigment disperser.

A 2019 review found a maximum reported use level of 14.5% in a lipstick. Concentrations range from 2.7-14.5% in lipsticks, ~6% in eyeliners, ~1.5% in body/hand products, and 0.05% in moisturizers.

This ingredient does have a comedogenic rating of 3, but this doesn't mean a formula with this ingredient will clog pores. Human testing has proved that any finished product with this ingredient won't automatically make you break out; it really comes down to concentration, formula, and your skin.

The Malassezia yeast can metabolize fatty acids in the C11-24 range, and Isopropyl Lanolate is an ester of lanolin fatty acids spanning C12-34. This puts it right inside the range, making it potentially unsafe for fungal acne.

Allergy data shows that patch tests on formulations containing 6% and 14% produced no contact allergy but pure 100% Isopropyl Lanolate produced sensitization reactions in 2 of 52 subjects. The broader concern is that lanolin as a family is a genuine contact allergen with reported prevalence across studies ranging from 1.2-6.9% of patients reacting to it. Most of these reports came from people who developed allergies after repeated or prolonged use on damage skin.