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Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Stearalkonium Chloride in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Stearalkonium Chloride is a cosmetic ingredient that keeps the product from spoiling. The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 19 products, most often hair care.

By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 3 sourcesHow we check

What does Stearalkonium Chloride do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Stearalkonium Chloride keeps the product from spoiling, lets oil and water mix, so the product can wash dirt away, and reduces static, so hair stays flat. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: preservative, surfactant and antistatic.

preservativesurfactantantistatic

What other names and numbers does Stearalkonium Chloride have?

CAS number
122-19-0
EC number
204-527-9
CosIng reference
38237

Is Stearalkonium Chloride restricted in the EU?

Yes, it has limits. The EU allows it only with limits or conditions of use, such as a maximum amount or a warning on the label (Annex III of Regulation 1223/2009, entry 65). The EU lists it as an allowed preservative, with a maximum amount (Annex V of Regulation 1223/2009, entry 54).

The annex entry sets the exact limits, the products it may be used in and any warning the label must carry.

Which products contain Stearalkonium Chloride?

Open Beauty Facts finds Stearalkonium Chloride in the ingredient lists of 19 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often hair care, hair conditioners and hair dyes.

  • Hair care6
  • Hair conditioners5
  • Hair dyes1

Products with it, by country of sale: France 7 · United States 6 · Spain 2 · Sweden 1.

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

On these listsPreservativesSurfactants and cleansersRestricted in the EU

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’.

  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
  3. EU Regulation 1223/2009 on cosmetic products (the annexes)

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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