Does Laurate (sorbitan laurate, PEG laurate…) 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.
Esters of lauric acid (coconut or palm kernel).
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: laurate · laurato
Products we checked that contain it
5 of the 115 products in the registry. Each one read off the packet by a person, with the date.
Contains coconut (2)
- Body Lotion (250 ml, scent not recorded) · Jo MaloneContains Caprylic/Capric/Myristic/Stearic Triglyceride, Cocos Nucifera, Coconut, Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideChecked September 2026
- Shampoo · MoroccanoilContains Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Caprylic/Capric TriglycerideChecked September 2026
Can’t be verified (3)
- Cleanance Barra Limpiadora Purificante (100 g) · AvèneCoconut or palm: Cetrimonium Bromide, Glycerin, Glyceryl LaurateChecked September 2026
- Revitalift Laser Crema Triple Acción Noche (50 ml) · L’Oréal ParisCoconut or palm: Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, LaurateChecked September 2026
- Snail Repair Intensive BB Cream SPF50+ (#25) · MizonCoconut or palm: LaurateChecked September 2026
What the companies said
Where a company has told us what plant their version comes from, it is on their page, quoted and dated.
- AvèneReplied, didn’t answerAsked on 30 September 2026 whether the glyceryl laurate in the Cleanance cleansing bar comes from palm kernel, as the rest of the bar does. Avène’s French consumer service replied the next day that it could not process the request, asked which country we are writing from, and said the subsidiary concerned would be in touch. The question itself has not been answered yet, so the bar stays at “unverifiable”.
- L’OréalWaitingL’Oréal owns L’Oréal Paris, L’Oréal Professionnel, Kérastase, Maybelline and Garnier. None of them publishes a working consumer contact form or email for Central America, so on 1 October 2026 one email went to the only address the group’s Central America office prints on its sites, asking it to pass the question to consumer care: which plant the glycerin, fatty alcohols, caprylyl glycol and other fatty-acid ingredients in these products are made from, and the full ingredient list of Magic Retouch, whose can carries none. No reply yet.
- MizonWaitingAsked by email on 1 October 2026 which plant the hexyl laurate and glyceryl caprylate in the Snail Repair Intensive BB Cream SPF50+ are made from, and for the product’s full ingredient list. 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 →
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.