Cosmetic ingredient dictionary
Microcrystalline Cellulose in cosmetics: what it is and what it does
Microcrystalline Cellulose is a cosmetic ingredient that makes the product thicker or thinner. Open Beauty Facts finds it in 222 products, most often sunscreen.
By Bravoora teamUpdated Sources checked 2 sourcesHow we check
What does Microcrystalline Cellulose do in a product?
In a cosmetic product, Microcrystalline Cellulose makes the product thicker or thinner, absorbs water or oil and keeps a powder free-flowing. The EU’s CosIng database lists these jobs for it: viscosity controlling, absorbent, anticaking, bulking, emulsion stabilising, opacifying and stabilising.
What other names and numbers does Microcrystalline Cellulose have?
- CAS number
- 9004-34-6
- EC number
- 232-674-9
- CosIng reference
- 78508
Which products contain Microcrystalline Cellulose?
Open Beauty Facts finds Microcrystalline Cellulose in the ingredient lists of 222 of the 22,021 products it has a list for, most often sunscreen and toothpastes.
Products with it, by country of sale: Germany 50 · France 49 · United States 23 · Norway 14.
Counted on 13 October 2026 from Open Beauty Facts, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where Microcrystalline Cellulose 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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