How we scored it
Where it comes from
Stearyl alcohol, usually from vegetable oil, is ethoxylated with about 21 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide to give a water-dispersible surfactant. The ethylene oxide chain makes up most of the final molecule's weight.
In plain English
An emulsifier and cleansing ingredient used in creams and washes. Made from stearyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol usually from vegetable oil, reacted with a long chain of petroleum-derived ethylene oxide to make it water-soluble. Mostly petrochemical by weight.
CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-octadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy
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References
- 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.
- 2STEARETH-21. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3STEARETH-21. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-21