Quick answer
Prevents minerals and metals in water from bonding to other ingredients; Helps prevent unwanted changes to a product’s texture, smell, or consistency; A salt form of EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid); Is related to disodium and trisodium EDTAs
Tetrasodium Edta
Updated
Tetrasodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate
Purpose
This ingredient is one of the salt forms of EDTA, which is short for ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. EDTA helps stabilize cosmetics formulas, preventing ingredients from binding to trace elements (often minerals) found in water.
Rating
GOOD
Category
Chelating Agent
INCI Purpose
CHELATING
Alternative Names
Hair Profile
Functions
At a Glance
Prevents minerals and metals in water from bonding to other ingredients
Helps prevent unwanted changes to a product’s texture, smell, or consistency
A salt form of EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid)
Is related to disodium and trisodium EDTAs
Article
Tetrasodium EDTA is a chelating agent used to prevent minerals and metals present in water-based formulations from bonding to other ingredients and impacting their efficacy. Chelating agents also prevent unwanted changes to a product’s texture, odor, and/or consistency, so are considered good stabilizers.
Tetrasodium EDTA is one type of salt form of EDTA. The acronym EDTA is short for ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, a stabilizer used in cosmetics to prevent ingredients in a given formula from binding with trace elements (particularly minerals) that can be present in water in some cases, added separately. Other EDTAs used in cosmetics include disodium and trisodium EDTAs.
While the optimal EDTA salt to be chosen for skin care formulations depends on the final product’s pH, all forms effectively chelate polyvalent minerals like calcium and magnesium. Additionally, EDTA salts have been shown to enhance the performance of antimicrobial preservatives.
Tetrasodium EDTA is typically used in amounts of 0.5% or less but is considered safe in cosmetics up to a 2% concentration. Clinical studies have shown it doesn’t penetrate past skin’s surface.
See: Disodium EDTA, Trisodium EDTA, EDTA
References