Polysorbate 80 is a skincare ingredient used in cosmetics to improve the texture and consistency of your products. As a surfactant, emulsifier, and solubilizer, Polysorbate 80 helps produce smooth, easy-to-apply skin and body care products.

There are many variations of Polysorbate. But the only difference between polysorbate 20, 60, and 80 is the type of fatty acid connected with the polyoxyethylene sorbitan part of the molecule. For polysorbate 80, it’s the oleic acid.

The oleic fatty acid makes Polysorbate 80 less hydrophilic and gives it a stronger ability to emulsify water with heavier oils, such as castor oil, hemp seed oil, and avocado oil.

What is Polysorbate 80?

Polysorbate 80 or Tween 80 is a thick, amber-colored liquid. It’s a hydrophilic, non-ionic surfactant made by reacting sorbitol, oleic fatty acid, and ethylene oxide with each other.

Where do these raw materials come from? Let’s take a look.

Sorbitol

Sorbitol is a sugar alcohol typically extracted from fruits, such as apples, peaches, cherries, and apricots. When we dehydrate it, it turns into sorbitan, which then reacts with 80 units of ethylene oxide in the processing of Polysorbate 80. It’s where the “80” in Polysorbate 80 comes from.

Oleic Acid

Oleic acid is a monooleate fatty acid found in animal fats and oils. But it can also be sourced from many vegetable oils, such as:

●Olive oil

●Pecan oil

●Canola oil

●Peanut oil

●Sunflower oil

●Grape seed oil

●Macadamia oil

●Sea buckthorn oil

●Sesame oil

●Poppyseed oil

Since the ingredient is mild, with a pH of 5-7, it is suitable for both wash-off and leave-on products such as cleansers and lotions.

For optimum results, store your Polysorbate 80 in a cool, dry, and dark area.

Why Do We Use Polysorbate 80?

You’ll find polysorbate 80 in ice creams, butter sauce, vitamin supplements, eye drops, and even intravenous pharmaceutical preparations such as vaccines - being used for its solubilizing, emulsifying, and suspension stabilizing properties.

In the cosmetic industry, it functions as a denaturant, emulsifying, surfactant in skincare products to help blend oil and water. Let’s see how these properties play out in the making of personal care products.

Benefits Of Polysorbate 80 In The Cosmetic Industry

Polysorbate 80’s benefits include functioning as a surfactant, emulsifier, and fragrance ingredient.

Surfactant

Surfactants, a short-term for the surface-active ingredient, are composites that lower the surface tension between two substances such as various liquids or liquids and a solid.

In the cosmetic industry, surfactants are used to degrease and emulsify oils and fats, allowing them to be rinsed away. Therefore, formulators often reach for this ingredient to add to their various skin and hair care lines. The surfactants pick up the dirt, oil, and other impurities that have accumulated on the skin during the day.

Emulsifier

When you mix water and oils, you see a dispersion of oil droplets in water or vice versa. But after a while, the two phases begin to separate. Thus, an emulsifier is needed for products that contain both water and oil components to keep them dispersed. This process helps creams, lotions, and oil-water concoctions spread easily and deliver the key ingredients evenly to the skin.

With a Hydrophilic–lipophilic (HLB) balance of 15, Polysorbate 80 falls within the HLB range of 8 to 18, making it the perfect emulsifier for tricky oil in water emulsions. This is also one of the many reasons why Polysorbate 80 is better suited for solubilizing true oils, as compared to its weaker variations such as Polysorbate 20.

Fragrance

As mentioned previously, polysorbates are derived from sorbitol found naturally in sweet-smelling fruits like apples, pears, peaches, and prunes. Therefore, along with its emulsifying properties, Polysorbate 80 is an excellent way to add mild fragrances that smell and feel natural to the skin.

Versatile

The emulsifier is incredibly versatile and safe for all your skin and hair care formulations, such as lotions, scrubs, soaps, body butters, bath bombs, shampoos, cleansers, eye drops, and other self-care products.

Is Polysorbate 80 Natural And Safe?

Although its raw materials come from natural sources, Polysorbate 80 itself is made by the chemical reaction between sorbitol, oleic fatty acid, and ethylene oxide. So it is synthetic but considered to be safe by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

Some people question Polysorbate 80’s safety because of carcinogenicity concerns with ethylene oxide and 1,4 dioxane. These known carcinogens are always kept below the toxicity threshold in food and cosmetic grade polysorbate 80, i.e., less than 0.2 mg/kg for ethylene oxide and 5 mg/kg for 1,4 dioxane.

The synergetic ingredients in Polysorbate 80 work well with most ingredients and skin types. However, some people may notice itching or redness due to an allergic reaction from Polysorbate 80. In this instance, you should seek medical assistance immediately.

Is Polysorbate 80 Vegan?

Between concerns over the environment and the overall well-being of animals, formulators often wonder if a certain emulsifier surfactant or oil is vegan.

Popular compounds such as Polysorbate 80 may sound unnatural and harmful. But Polysorbates are completely vegan if the fatty acid - oleic acid - is derived from vegetable oils and no animal matter or ingredients sourced from animals are used during the production process.

In The End

Formulators can get high-quality Polysorbate 80 to make various kinds of beauty products on their own. The ingredient is quite versatile and can be used as a beneficial emulsifier that works wonders in deep conditioning lotions and similar products.

Polysorbate 80 is also known as the perfect ingredient when you need to mix certain stubborn ingredients such as oils and water-based substances. Used in the right way and the ideal amount, Polysorbate 80 becomes a valuable ingredient for skin and body care products.

Lastly, when purified, this effective emulsifier is considered safe for all skin types, even sensitive and cracked skin, which is one of the reasons why it is gaining popularity in the cosmetic industry. However, to ensure you receive only the best, always make sure to opt for the purified food or cosmetic grade of Polysorbate 80.