Is steareth-21 made from coconut?
Steareth-21 is stearyl alcohol, a waxy fatty alcohol, made water-friendly so it can hold oil and water together. Stearyl alcohol is made from plant oils, most often palm and sometimes coconut, and the label does not say which.
It is usually paired with steareth-2 to make creams, lotions and sunscreens stable. Both belong to the same family.
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.
On a label: steareth-21 · steareth 21
Products we checked that contain it
2 of the 117 products in the registry. Each one read off the packet by a person, with the date.
Contains coconut (1)
No coconut listed (1)
The whole family: Cetearyl / cetyl / stearyl alcohol (and ceteareth-, steareth-, -trimonium, -dimonium)
Related names: Cetearyl alcohol · Cetyl alcohol · Stearyl alcohol · Cetrimonium chloride · Ceteareth-20
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.