Does Caprylyl / capryloyl / decyl (C8–C10 chains) come from coconut?

Nobody can tell you from the label.This ingredient can be made from coconut, from palm kernel, or from another plant entirely, and the label does not say which. That is why products containing it are marked “can’t be verified” rather than cleared — we don’t fill in the blank, we ask the company and publish what they say.

Eight- and ten-carbon chains. These are split off coconut or palm kernel oil almost every time — those two oils are where the short fatty acids come from.

More often than not, this one turns out to be coconut or palm kernel, so it holds a product’s verdict open on its own.

Also written as: caprylyl glycol · capryloyl glycine · caprilil glicol · capriloil glicina · decyl oleate · decyl alcohol · decyl… · oleato de decilo · alcohol decílico

One name at a time: Caprylyl glycol

Products we checked that contain it

21 of the 115 products in the registry. Each one read off the packet by a person, with the date.

Contains coconut (3)

Can’t be verified (18)

What the companies said

Where a company has told us what plant their version comes from, it is on their page, quoted and dated.

Whether this matters for you depends on which kind of coconut allergy you have →

Check a label for this and everything else →

All of coconut’s names

Reactions to refined derivatives vary from person to person. This list helps you ask better questions; your allergist decides what you avoid. Educational only, not medical advice. Always confirm with your allergist.

Join the club.

Free. One email a month, from one person who reads labels for a living now.

  • The printable wallet card, the moment you join
  • What brands answered, in your inbox once a month
  • One email a month at most. Nothing else. Leave whenever you like.