Does Cetearyl / cetyl / stearyl alcohol (and ceteareth-, steareth-, -trimonium, -dimonium) come from coconut?

Waxy 'fatty alcohols' (not drying alcohol), and the conditioning salts made from them — cetrimonium chloride, distearyldimonium chloride. Usually palm or coconut, sometimes other oils.

Usually palm, soy or rapeseed, and refined well past the point where coconut protein survives. It is named on the product page, but it doesn’t decide the verdict by itself — nearly every cosmetic contains it, and if it did, the whole registry would turn amber and the warning would stop meaning anything.

Also written as: cetearyl alcohol · cetyl alcohol · stearyl alcohol · cetostearyl alcohol · alcohol cetearílico · alcohol cetílico · alcohol estearílico · alcohol cetoestearílico · ceteareth… · steareth… · cetrimonium… · steartrimonium… · distearyldimonium… · dicetyldimonium… · ceteth… · cetrimonio…

Products we checked that contain it

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

What the companies said

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

• Aroma-ZoneWaitingAsked on 30 September 2026 which plant the glycerine, cetearyl alcohol and glyceryl stearate in three products are made from. No reply yet.
• AvèneWaitingAsked on 30 September 2026 whether the glyceryl laurate in the Cleanance cleansing bar comes from palm kernel, as the rest of the bar does. No reply yet.
• DiorWaitingAsked on 30 September 2026 which plant the caprylyl glycol, steareth- and lauroyl lysine in two products are made from. No reply yet.
• Estée LauderWaitingAsked on 30 September 2026 which plant the glycerin, caprylyl glycol and ceteth- in two products are made from, and for the full ingredient list of the Revitalizing Supreme+ cream. No reply yet.

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.