Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Ceteareth-10
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ceteareth-10 natural?

Mostly not. Cetearyl alcohol, a blend of natural cetyl and stearyl fatty alcohols, is natural; the 10 ethylene-oxide units are petrochemical.

INCI nameCeteareth-10
CAS68439-49-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockCetearyl alcohol, a coconut/palm-derived cetyl-stearyl alcohol blend, is…

How we scored it

Cetearyl alcohol (avg C16/C18) ~256.5 Da (natural) + 10 EO 440.5 Da (petrochemical) = ~697 Da; 256.5/697 = 0.37.
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

Cetearyl alcohol, a coconut/palm-derived cetyl-stearyl alcohol blend, is ethoxylated with about 10 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No formula was supplied; MW is estimated from the typical C16/C18 alcohol blend.

In plain English

An emulsifier that blends oil and water in creams and lotions. Made from a coconut/palm-derived fatty-alcohol blend reacted with ethylene oxide, a petroleum-based ingredient.

CosIng definition: C16-18 alcohols, ethoxylated (10 mol EO average molar ratio)

Natural alternatives with the same function

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. 2CETEARETH-10. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETEARETH-10. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETEARETH-10