Database/Cleansing/Ceteth-20
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ceteth-20 natural?

Mostly not. Cetyl alcohol is oleochemical and natural; twenty ethoxylate units from petrochemical ethylene oxide dominate the molecule's mass.

INCI nameCeteth-20
CAS9004-95-9
FormulaC56H114O21 · 1123.5 Da
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockCetyl alcohol for Ceteth-20 is typically oleochemical, from…

How we scored it

Cetyl natural fragment C16H33O 241.4 Da / total C56H114O21 1123.5 Da = 0.21; remainder is 20 EO petrochemical chain (881 Da).
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Cetyl alcohol for Ceteth-20 is typically oleochemical, from coconut or palm kernel oil. It is reacted with twenty moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide, which makes up most of the mass.

In plain English

An emulsifying and cleansing ingredient made from a coconut/palm-derived fatty alcohol (cetyl alcohol) reacted with a larger amount of ethylene oxide than Ceteth-10. Helps blend oil and water.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-hexadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (20 mol EO average molar ratio)

Natural alternatives with the same function

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Structure

2D structure of Ceteth-20

2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-[2-(2-hexadecoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethanol

PubChem CID 2724259 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Ceteth-20. PubChem CID 2724259. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3CETETH-20. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4CETETH-20. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETETH-20