Database/Cleansing/Beheneth-30
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Beheneth-30 natural?

Mostly not. Behenyl fatty alcohol is oleochemical; 30 ethylene-oxide units are petrochemical per this site's convention.

INCI nameBeheneth-30
CAS26636-40-8
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleochemical behenyl alcohol with ethylene…

How we scored it

CosIng text states 30 mol EO average; given formula/MW duplicates Beheneth-15's ~3 EO record, a PubChem mismatch, disregarded. Docosanol 326.6 Da (natural) + 30x44.05 EO 1321.5 Da (petrochemical) = 1648.1 Da -> 0.20.
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

Made by ethoxylating oleochemical behenyl alcohol with ethylene oxide to an average of 30 mol EO. Ethylene oxide is petrochemical; no natural ethoxylation route exists.

In plain English

An emulsifier and cleansing ingredient made by reacting behenyl alcohol, from vegetable oil, with a larger dose of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived chemical, than Beheneth-15, for wash-off products.

CosIng definition: Docosanol, ethoxylated, 30 mol EO (average molar ratio)

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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. 2BEHENETH-30. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3BEHENETH-30. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BEHENETH-30