Cosmetic ingredient dictionary
Polysorbate 80 in cosmetics: what it is and what it does
Polysorbate 80 is a cosmetic ingredient that lets oil and water mix, so the product can wash dirt away. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 220 products, most often toothpastes.
By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 2 sourcesHow we check
What does Polysorbate 80 do in a product?
In a cosmetic product, Polysorbate 80 lets oil and water mix, so the product can wash dirt away, keeps oil and water mixed, and makes alcohol undrinkable. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: surfactant, emulsifying and denaturant.
What other names and numbers does Polysorbate 80 have?
- CAS number
- 9005-65-6
- CosIng reference
- 36902
Which products contain Polysorbate 80?
Open Beauty Facts finds Polysorbate 80 in the ingredient lists of 220 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often toothpastes and face care.
Products with it, by country of sale: France 49 · United States 36 · Germany 34 · Australia 16.
Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Polysorbate 80 turns up, not how much of the market it is.
Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dermatologists, dietitians and doctors
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’.
- European Commission: CosIng cosmetic ingredient database (functions, description, EU annex entry)
- 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
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