Triethanolamine, In pharmacy, triethanolamine is the active ingredient in some ear drops used to treat impacted earwax.

It is also used in many different cosmetic products, cleansing creams and milks, skin lotions, eye gels, moisturizers, shampoos, shaving foams, etc.                         It is also used as an organic additive (0.1% by weight) in the grinding of cement clinker. It facilitates the grinding process by collecting balls and preventing agglomeration and coating of the dust of the mill wall.

Another common use of TEA is as a complexing agent for aluminum ions in aqueous solutions.

It is used to mask before complexometric titrations with another chelating agent such as EDTA.