Lanoline's Composition

Like many natural products, lanolin has a complex and variable composition. For example, a typical high purity grade of lanolin is composed predominantly of long chain waxy esters (ca. 97% by weight) the remainder being lanolin alcohols, lanolin acids and lanolin hydrocarbons.

It has been estimated that there may be between 8,000 and 20,000 different types of lanolin ester present in lanolin resulting from combinations between the ca. 200 different lanolin acids and the ca. 100 different lanolin alcohols that have so far been identified.

Lanolin's complex composition of long chain esters, hydroxy esters, diesters, lanolin alcohols, lanolin acids means that in addition to it being a valuable product in its own right, it is also the starting point for the production of a whole spectrum of lanolin derivatives which possess wide-ranging chemical and physical properties. The main derivatisation routes include hydrolysis, fractional solvent crystallisation, esterification, hydrogenation, alkoxylation and quaternisation Lanolin derivatives obtained from these processes are used widely in both high-value cosmetic and skin treatment products.

Hydrolysis of lanolin yields lanolin alcohols and lanolin acids. Lanolin alcohols are a rich source of cholesterol (an important skin lipid) and are powerful water-in-oil emulsifiers; they have been used extensively in skin care products for over 100 years. Interestingly, approximately 40% of the acids derived from lanolin are alpha hydroxy acids. The use of alpha hydroxy acids (AHA’s) in skin care products has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years.
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