How we scored it
Where it comes from
The hydrophobe is palm-derived cetyl alcohol reacted with about 25 mol ethylene oxide then acrylated, copolymerised with acrylic/methacrylic acid monomers. All monomers except the fatty tail are petrochemical, and the tail is a small fraction of total polymer mass.
In plain English
A thickening polymer for gels and lotions, built mostly from petrochemical acrylic acid with a small palm-oil-derived fatty tail attached. The fatty tail is a minor part of a mostly synthetic molecule.
CosIng definition: Copolymer formed from ester of acrylic acid and ethoxylated palm alcohol with of 25 moles of ethylene oxide and one or more monomers of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid or one of their simple esters
Natural alternatives with the same function
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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.
- 2ACRYLATES/PALMETH-25 ACRYLATE COPOLYMER. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3ACRYLATES/PALMETH-25 ACRYLATE COPOLYMER. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ACRYLATES/PALMETH-25%20ACRYLATE%20COPOLYMER