A six-carbon alcohol, used as a solvent and perfuming ingredient.
What it is
Hexyl alcohol is hexan-1-ol, a straight-chain alcohol with six carbon atoms and a fruity, green odour. CosIng lists it as an antifoaming, hydrotrope and cleansing surfactant, solvent and perfuming ingredient.
Where it is used
Appears on the ingredient lists of a small number of products.
Limits of interpretation
The INCI list shows which ingredients are present, not how much of each. Above 1%, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight; below 1% the order is free.
Functions
- Antifoaming
- Suppressing foam during manufacturing or reducing the tendency of finished products to generate foam.
- Surfactant – hydrotrope
- Enhancing the water solubility of another surfactant.
- Solvent
- Dissolving other components of cosmetics. Solvents are usually liquids (aqueous and nonaqueous).
- Surfactant – cleansing
- Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).
- Perfuming
- Used for perfume and aromatic raw materials.
EU regulation
This ingredient is not listed in the annexes of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 in the CosIng data.