EDTA Good Chelating Agent No known benefits EDTA description 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. EDTA also keeps other ingredients from causing unwanted changes to a product’s texture, odor, and/or consistency. Ingredients that perform this function are known as chelating agents. Common examples of EDTA ingredients are disodium EDTA and tetrasodium EDTA. See chelating agent Related ingredients: Disodium EDTA Trisodium EDTA Tetrasodium EDTA