lanolin acid

Wool fatty acids are produced by chemical treatment of wool fat obtained from washing sheep wool. Wool fatty acids are an extremely complex mixture of semi-refined wool fat and various fatty acids. Chemically it is a wax and a mixture of esters, diesters and esters of hydroxy-lanoline alcohols with long-chain fatty acids (lanolin acids).

Lanolin acid acts as emollient (makes the skin smooth and supple), emulsifier (changes the interfacial tension of liquids like water and oil so that they can be mixed together) and surfactant (washing-active substance).