INCI Name: Isoamyl Laurate
Appearance: Clear, colorless to pale yellow liquid
Solubility: Oil-soluble
Usage Rate: 1% – 60%
Function: Emollient, sensory enhancer, silicone replacement
Isoamyl Laurate is a lightweight, fast-absorbing natural ester that offers a silky, dry-touch feel similar to dimethicone. It’s ideal for silicone-free formulations and is widely used to improve texture, spreadability, and skin compatibility in clean beauty products.
Isoamyl Laurate is a natural, biodegradable ester known for its light, elegant skin feel. It improves application slip, reduces greasiness, and serves as a sensory modifier in both anhydrous and emulsified systems. A great choice for clean formulations aiming to replace synthetic silicones without sacrificing feel or performance.
Add to the oil phase of emulsions or blend into anhydrous systems. Use to modify the finish and sensory profile of creams, balms, oils, or color cosmetics.
Unlike heavier esters, Isoamyl Laurate disappears quickly on skin. It’s particularly good at reducing greasiness in oils and butters, making rich formulas feel elegant instead of heavy.
Yes. While not identical to silicones like dimethicone, it offers similar glide and volatility without the occlusive film or regulatory baggage. Perfect for natural or silicone-free positioned products.
Yes. Its high spreadability helps evenly distribute lipophilic actives (retinoids, UV filters, Vitamin E) across the skin, improving absorption and reducing hot-spots of irritation.
It helps solubilize and stabilize oil phases, reducing separation. It also improves pigment dispersion in makeup and sunscreens, preventing streaking or clumping.
Yes. It’s lightweight, non-comedogenic, and derived from natural feedstocks (sugarcane + coconut/palm kernel). It moisturizes without clogging pores or leaving residue.
Yes, Mineral UV filters like Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide disperse more evenly in Isoamyl Laurate, which improves glide and minimizes streaking.
Yes. In sunscreen and makeup, polymers (like acrylates or film formers) can leave a tacky finish. Isoamyl Laurate reduces that drag, giving smoother drydown without weakening the film.
It improves wetting and dispersion of pigments in lipsticks, foundations, and pressed powders, leading to more uniform color payoff and less patchiness.
Yes. Its light molecular weight and skin-mimicking emollience mean it hydrates without clogging pores. It’s often chosen for acne-prone or reactive skin formulas where heavier esters would be risky.
Yes. It helps disperse mineral and organic UV filters evenly across the skin, reducing patchiness and improving the protective film, especially important in high-SPF products where thick textures are common.
