Database/Antifoaming/Alcohol
Route-dependent · ISO 16128

Is Alcohol natural?

It depends. Fermentation ethanol from sugar/grain is 100% natural; petrochemical ethanol from ethylene hydration is 0%; both routes are commercially significant.

INCI nameAlcohol
CAS64-17-5
FormulaC2H6O · 46.07 Da
FunctionAntifoaming · Antimicrobial
FeedstockMost cosmetic-grade ethanol is fermented from corn, sugarcane…

Why the score varies

This ingredient is made commercially by more than one route, and ISO 16128 scores the feedstock actually used. Without a supplier certificate of origin the value cannot be claimed.

RouteFeedstockNOIShareNotes
fermentationcorn/sugarcane/grain sugar fermentation1.00~60-70%
petrochemicalethylene hydration0.00~30-40%
Ask your supplier. A batch-specific certificate of origin or bio-based carbon test (ASTM D6866) settles which route applies.

How we scored it

Ethanol (C2H5OH) is either wholly fermentation-derived or wholly petrochemical; not a mixed-fragment molecule, so each route is scored whole.
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

Most cosmetic-grade ethanol is fermented from corn, sugarcane or grain sugars (dominant route). A minority is made synthetically by acid-catalysed hydration of petrochemical ethylene.

In plain English

Ethyl alcohol used as a solvent and astringent in cosmetics. It is usually made by fermenting plant sugars like corn or sugarcane, though some is manufactured from petroleum-based ethylene.

CosIng definition: Alcohol is undenatured ethyl alcohol that conforms to the formula:

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 Morus Alba Extract 100% natural origin

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 Pinene 100% natural origin

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Structure

2D structure of Alcohol

ethanol

PubChem CID 702 ↗

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. 2Alcohol. PubChem CID 702. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ALCOHOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ALCOHOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ALCOHOL