I have just bought a 5 litre tubof Massage lotion from a well known UK based web site made by a well known US based brand. On closer inspection of the ingredientsit containsa product called 'Spermaceti Wax'. Now intrigued what this may or may not be I Googled the phrase & it looks like it is extracted from Sperm whales, which doesn't sound very pleasent or ethical.
Can anyone clarify this (perhaps its a synthetic alternative)before I dispose of it & write a rather expresive letter to the manufacturer & dealer.
RE: Dubious sounding ingredient
Hi Philbo,
Apparently it helps with wrinkles ;). I have heard of it in face creams too!
Angel Girl
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RE: Dubious sounding ingredient
Philbo,
I would be very interested to hear which product it is.
Can you pm me the name of the product if you dont want to name it here. I would like to stay clear of it as i think its unnecessary to have such ingredients.
RE: Dubious sounding ingredient
I found this online - bold is my own:
Whale spermaceti
Spermaceti is extracted by cooling (11% of the initial oil) from adipose tissues and also collected from a big cavity in the head of a cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus) known as sperm whale. The frontal organ, used as a sonar by the animal, contains about 3 tons spermaceti for a 15 meters animal. This product contains fatty esters (65-95%) but also triglycerides (5-30%), free alcohols (1-5%) and acids (0-3%). Adipose tissues (9-10 tons of lard for a 15 m animal) contain only 10-12% spermaceti wax. Fatty esters are formed essentially of cetyl palmitate (C32) and cetyl myristate (C30). Purified spermaceti has an aspect of a light mass of white crystals which can be powdered. It can be fused with bee wax and other fatty compounds (oils, fatty acids). Its melting point is 42-50°C.
Spermaceti was used in medicine in England (15th century) and later in cosmetics, pharmacy and also in candles but, after the recent international regulation concerning whale captures, it is no longer produced and sold. It is now replaced by synthetic spermaceti made of pure cetyl palmitate or mixtures based on jojoba.
RE: Dubious sounding ingredient
Iemailed Mueller who make this & their International Sales Managerhas looked into it &confirmed it is synthetic as follows-
'I contacted our Director of Quality Systems who confirmed with the
manufacturer that this raw material is indeed synthetic and NOT made
from animals. The Spermaceti Wax component is actually Crodamol SS
which is entirely synthetic made up of coconut oil, palm oil and petro
chemical.'
I'm glad about that but you never know, it's always worth asking the question & they were obviously keen to respond.
RE: Dubious sounding ingredient
I, personally wouldn't use anything that had petrochemicals in it. They are a by-product of the oil industry.
Patchouli