Quaternium-18 Hectorite
AKA “Quaternium 18-hectorite, Bentone 38, 12001-31-9, IIS3YBV1XX, EINECS 234-406-6, DTXSID301027430, LUCENTITE SAN, RefChem:871336, DTXCID401515062”
Ingredient
Ingredient Facts
Quaternium-18 hectorite
AKA: Quaternium 18-hectorite, Bentone 38, 12001-31-9, IIS3YBV1XX, EINECS 234-406-6, DTXSID301027430, LUCENTITE SAN, RefChem:871336, DTXCID401515062
Ingredient · Viscosity Controlling · EWG: 1
Synthetic
Clay
Clean
Quaternary ammonium compounds, bis(hydrogenated tallow alkyl)dimethyl, chlorides, compds. with hectorite
Formula
HLiMgNaO11Si4-
Mol. Weight
343.60
CAS #
71011-27-3
Form
Powder
See origin →
Functions
Viscosity Controlling
Controls Viscosity
Locks In Moisture
Traditional Use
A synthetic hybrid ingredient developed to combine cationic conditioning agents with hectorite clay's absorbent properties. Created for use in modern cosmetic formulations to improve spreadability and skin feel in pressed powders and foundations.
Skin Types
●all-skin-types
Best For
General
Pregnancy & Breastfeeding Safe
Yes
Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Quaternium-18, Quaternium-18 Hectorite, and Quaternium-18 Bentonite
Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel
International Journal of Toxicology
Quaternium-18 Hectorite
European Commission
EU Cosmetic Ingredient Database (CosIng)
Quaternium-18 Hectorite
Environmental Working Group (EWG)
EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database
Verified Jun 2026
Data: PubChem · CosIng · EWG · CIR