Glyceryl stearate

Glyceryl stearate is an emulsifier made from glycerine and stearic acid, helping hold a cream's water and oil phases together. The European CosIng database assigns two functions: emollient and emulsifying. Readers soon encounter SE, and Glyceryl Stearate SE is a separate CosIng entry, with its own CAS number and just one stated function.

Those two letters matter because information about one entry is often presented as if it applies to both.

What it does in a cream

A cream combines water and fats in one jar; alone, they would separate into two layers. CosIng records glyceryl stearate as a surfactant, describing its role: the molecule positions itself at the interface between the two phases.

CosIng's chemical description is brief: the monoester of stearic acid with glycerol. At one end is glycerine, with an affinity for water; at the other is stearic acid, which has its own CosIng entry and six functions, including emulsifying.

Of the two recorded functions, emulsifying concerns the formula's stability and emollient concerns softness of the skin's surface layer. The latter is absent from the SE version's record.

Glycerol stearate and glyceryl monostearate

Italian searches often use 'glicerolo stearato', prompting doubts about whether it is another substance. The CosIng record resolves this by listing two names alongside the INCI name: the international non-proprietary name is glyceryl monostearate, and the European Pharmacopoeia name is glyceroli monostearas. Three official names share one record, registered by CosIng under CAS number 31566-31-1.

For trade names, the label rules matter. Raw-material names used between suppliers remain in their catalogues; the ingredient list of a cosmetic sold in Europe uses the European glossary name. The packaging reads Glyceryl Stearate.

The two letters SE

Glyceryl Stearate SE is a distinct CosIng entry with its own numbers: CAS 11099-07-3 and EC 234-325-6. It has one stated function: emulsifying.

SE stands for self-emulsifying. In its glycerine monoester report, the US Cosmetic Ingredient Review expert panel cites the International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook definition: a self-emulsifying grade containing a proportion of sodium or potassium stearate.

Sodium and potassium stearates are salts of stearic acid; their presence gives the SE grade its self-emulsifying character. CosIng's chemical name for the SE entry ends with neutralized. Neutralising an acid converts part of it to the corresponding salt. Two letters at the end of an INCI name can therefore signify a separate registration.

How widely it is used

The same report compiles US use data. In 2015, glyceryl stearate was the most frequently used of the forty-four monoesters examined, with 5,153 reported formulations, including 4,229 leave-on products. Glyceryl stearate SE followed with 1,420. The 2014 concentration survey reported a maximum of 18.9% and, among leave-on products, 17% in a deodorant.

In the conclusion of that document, Safety Assessment of Monoglyceryl Monoesters as Used in Cosmetics, Final Amended Report of 15 January 2016, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel considered all forty-four monoesters examined, including glyceryl stearate and glyceryl stearate SE, safe in cosmetics under the reported practices of use and concentrations. That conclusion concerns the US market.

The two entries and the European annexes

Glyceryl stearate does not appear among prohibited or restricted substances in the annexes to Regulation (EC) 1223/2009. CosIng records the same position for glyceryl stearate SE.

Both records leave the restriction and maximum-concentration fields blank, and neither is linked to a Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety opinion. Those fields describe an ingredient's European regulatory classification and nothing more. An individual's response to the complete formula remains a separate question.

Where to find it on the label

It appears as Glyceryl Stearate. Related names may appear nearby, such as Glyceryl Stearate Citrate or Polyglyceryl-3 Stearate, each with its own glossary entry.

For this ingredient, list position deserves attention. Order reflects quantities only above 1%, and the 2014 survey reports glyceryl stearate levels from far below that threshold up to 18.9%. Above 1%, its position therefore gives relative quantity information. The full rule is in how to read an INCI list; for a complete label, use the INCI analyser. Another emulsifier already has a page here, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, where a number carries the significance that two letters carry here.

Sources: CosIng, European Commission, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate SE and Stearic Acid entries, consulted on 8 August 2026. Cosmetic Ingredient Review, Safety Assessment of Monoglyceryl Monoesters as Used in Cosmetics, Final Amended Report, issued 15 January 2016, panel meeting of 14–15 December 2015. Regulation (EC) 1223/2009.