PEG-4 Distearyl Ether in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

What does PEG-4 Distearyl Ether do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, PEG-4 Distearyl Ether keeps the skin in good condition, makes hair easier to comb, softer or shinier and makes a clear product cloudy. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: skin conditioning, hair conditioning, opacifying and plasticiser.

What other names and numbers does PEG-4 Distearyl Ether have?

CosIng reference

58090

Which products contain PEG-4 Distearyl Ether?

Open Beauty Facts finds PEG-4 Distearyl Ether in the ingredient lists of 8 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often shampoos, hair care and anti-dandruff shampoos.

• Shampoos4
• Hair care3
• Anti-dandruff shampoos1

Products with it, by country of sale: Germany 4 · France 1 · Austria 1 · Spain 1.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where PEG-4 Distearyl Ether turns up, not how much of the market it is.

Sources

The job, the description and the EU annex entry are CosIng’s; the fragrance allergens are the EU Annex III names Bravoora’s label checker reads; the product counts are Open Beauty Facts’.

1. European Commission: CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (functions, description, EU annex entry)
2. Open Beauty Facts: product database, 77,506 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL

Contains information from Open Beauty Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check