Cosmetic ingredient dictionary

Hectorite in cosmetics: what it is and what it does

Hectorite is a cosmetic ingredient that makes the product thicker or thinner. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 39 products, most often deodorants.

By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 2 sourcesHow we check

What does Hectorite do in a product?

In a cosmetic product, Hectorite makes the product thicker or thinner, absorbs water or oil and adds volume to a powder. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: viscosity controlling, absorbent and bulking.

viscosity controllingabsorbentbulking

What other names and numbers does Hectorite have?

CAS number
12173-47-6
EC number
235-340-0
CosIng reference
34228

Which products contain Hectorite?

Open Beauty Facts finds Hectorite in the ingredient lists of 39 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often deodorants, sunscreen and face care.

  • Deodorants3
  • Sunscreen3
  • Face care2
  • Facial creams2

Products with it, by country of sale: France 16 · United States 6 · Germany 4 · Spain 3.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Hectorite 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’.

  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

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