Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Ceteareth-4
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Ceteareth-4 natural?

Mostly. Fatty alcohol base dominates the mass; the short 4-unit ethoxylate chain is petrochemical.

INCI nameCeteareth-4
CAS68439-49-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockCeteareth-4 is made by ethoxylating cetearyl alcohol (C16-18…

How we scored it

Cetearyl alcohol (256.5 Da, oleochemical) + 4× ethylene oxide (4×44.05=176.2 Da, petrochemical) = 432.7 Da; 256.5/432.7 = 0.59
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

Ceteareth-4 is made by ethoxylating cetearyl alcohol (C16-18 oleochemical fatty alcohol blend) with 4 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No alternative bio-based ethoxylation route is commercially used.

In plain English

An emulsifier made mostly from a plant- or animal-derived fatty alcohol with a small amount of petrochemical ethylene oxide.

CosIng definition: C16-18 alcohols, ethoxylated (4 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-4. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETEARETH-4. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETEARETH-4