Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Ceteareth-17
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ceteareth-17 natural?

Mostly not. The cetearyl alcohol is natural; the ethylene-oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI nameCeteareth-17
CAS68439-49-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockCetyl and stearyl alcohols ethoxylated with about 17…

How we scored it

Ceteareth-17: cetearyl alcohol about 256.5 Da (natural, C16-C18 blend) + 17 EO 748.9 Da (petrochemical) = 1005.4 Da → 0.26. Same method as Ceteareth-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

Cetyl and stearyl alcohols ethoxylated with about 17 mol of ethylene oxide.

In plain English

An emulsifier and cleansing ingredient made by reacting plant- or animal-fat-derived fatty alcohols with ethylene oxide, a petroleum-based chemical. The fatty part is renewable; the ethoxylated part is not.

CosIng definition: C16-18 alcohols, ethoxylated (17 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. 2CETEARETH-17. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETEARETH-17. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETEARETH-17