Is stearyl alcohol made from coconut?

Stearyl alcohol is a waxy thickener, not the drying kind of alcohol. It is made from plant oils, usually palm, and the label does not name the plant.

Coconut oil contains very little of the fat it is made from, so coconut is an unlikely source, but nothing on a label rules it out. It is used in conditioners, creams and deodorant sticks.

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: stearyl alcohol · alcohol estearilico

Products we checked that contain it

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

The whole family: Cetearyl / cetyl / stearyl alcohol (and ceteareth-, steareth-, -trimonium, -dimonium)
Related names: Cetearyl alcohol · Cetyl alcohol · Cetrimonium chloride

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.