PEG-100 Stearate

Where do we get it and how is it made?

​​The word stearate means ester (or salt) of stearic acid. Stearic acid is a fatty substance found in vegetable oils and in this case, in palm and palm kernel oil. To obtain glycol stearate, a chemical reaction is made with glycerine (a by-product of soap making), and to obtain PEG-100 stearate, the materials are transformed using ethylene oxide.

With seven manufacturing sites across the globe, this information may vary depending on where your Lush products were made.

What are the benefits PEG-100 stearate and glyceryl stearate combined?

It has emulsifying properties that allow oil and water to mix. Creams and lotions are indeed water and oil droplets held together by materials called emulsifiers. Without them, the blend would separate.
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Is it safe?

PEG compounds of different molecular weights (PEG-6, PEG-40, PEG-100) have been assessed over and over again and are deemed relatively safe for use in cosmetics. Application to the skin poses no risk to human health, has a long history of safe use, and no impact on reproductive health has been found. Interestingly, PEGs are often used in the medical field, including some of the recent COVID-19 vaccines

However, most ingredient safety data in peer-reviewed scientific publications are based on animal research. We believe these are not good enough to support claims about human safety. For many years, we have partnered with XCellR8 to develop animal-free safety tests. PEG-100 has been classified by this laboratory as having a low risk of genotoxicity. Genotoxicity is the ability of a material to cause damage to the genetic material of cells, which may potentially lead to cancer.