Ingredient
C13-15 Alkane
Benefits
Synthetic
This material, also known as hemisqualane, acts as a solvent. Solvents help cosmetic blends have a light texture and glide seamlessly on the skin and hair. Like its relative called squalane, C13-15 Alkane softens, protects and conditions but with a much lighter and dry feeling.
Alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons and the C followed by numbers in their names indicates the length of the carbon chains present in the compound.
Although hydrocarbons are commonly found in crude oil and petroleum products, technology now allows us to create alkanes from plants. Lush purchase a sugar cane-derived hemisqualane that doesn't bioaccumulate in organisms or interfere with composting systems as it breaks down into mineral components very quickly.