Stearyl Alcohol Ethoxylate

Stearyl Alcohol Ethoxylate is a nonionic surfactant made by ethoxylating stearyl alcohol (C18) with ethylene oxide. Changing the EO level moves the product from oil-soluble co-emulsifier toward water-dispersible wetting and detergency grades, so selection starts with the required HLB and the phase the product must live in.

Esteem lists stearyl alcohol ethoxylates in the 2–15 EO mole range on the alkoxylates hub; higher-EO members can be discussed for O/W briefs. Full family context is on the Alkoxylates hub. For grade selection beyond this page, Esteem’s R&D and QA teams work from the application brief rather than a catalogue guess.

Applications

• Thick creams and body butters needing stearyl structure.
• Hair conditioners and treatment emulsions.
• W/O and O/W co-emulsification with fatty alcohols and glycerol esters.

How to select the grade

• Low EO favours W/O and structuring roles; rising EO shifts toward O/W emulsification.
• Stearyl chains crystallise more than oleyl chains — expect more body and opacity.
• Specify EO moles, appearance and whether structure or detergency is the priority.

How to specify on an RFQ

Send the application, the property that must not fail (HLB/emulsion stability, wetting, foam, feel or solubility), target specification, and trial quantity. That lets Esteem match the grade to your test method instead of quoting the nearest catalogue name. Current TDS, SDS and lot COA are shared for qualified enquiries through the document library route.