Lanolin is the grease found in the wool sheared from sheep. The grease or fat is removed from the wool and later chemically "cleaned up" for use in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Since lanolin cannot be dissolved in water, it is usually removed from the wool with a water insoluble solvent. A good solvent for lanolin is CHLOROFORM, although it is expensive for this process. Lanolin is purified by a series of solvent extractions and may even be bleached to some degree to lighten its original dark color to a bright yellow. Lanolin is composed mostly of esters of fatty acids and a small amount of solid alcohols such as cholesterol.
