Myristyl Myristate
No meaningful concern for most people; irritation is possible but rare.
What it is
Myristyl myristate is the ester of myristyl alcohol and myristic acid, both typically from coconut or palm oil. It is a soft wax that melts near skin temperature, giving creams and balms a smooth, velvety application and a rich after-feel.
What it does well
Gives a rich, velvety texture that melts on the skin
As a solid-to-liquid ester it is a standard way to make a balm or cream feel luxurious without using mineral oil.
Strong evidence
Worth knowing
One of the higher scorers in comedogenicity screening
Myristyl myristate is among the esters that rated highly in the old rabbit-ear comedogenicity assay. That model is known to over-predict compared with human testing, and a single ingredient's score does not determine whether a finished product breaks you out, but it is worth noting if you are acne-prone and a rich product consistently disagrees with you.
Matters most toPeople with acne-prone skin who react to rich, waxy textures.
Where the EU stands
No specific restriction
No EU restriction on use or concentration in cosmetics.
Sources (1)
Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.
- [1]Analysis of comedone, sebum and porphyrin on the face and body for comedogenicity assay
Skin Research and Technology · 2016 · doi:10.1111/srt.12244
Human facial and back testing is more reliable for comedogenicity than the rabbit-ear model, which over-reacts to comedogenic materials.
