Database/Cleansing/Ceteareth-40
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ceteareth-40 natural?

Mostly not. Cetearyl alcohol is an oleochemical fatty alcohol; the 40 mol ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical and dominates molecule mass.

INCI nameCeteareth-40
CAS68439-49-6
FunctionCleansing · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockCetearyl alcohol typically comes from coconut or palm…

How we scored it

Cetearyl alcohol C16-18 ~256 Da (natural) + 40 EO x44=1762 Da (petro); 256/2018=0.13
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 typically comes from coconut or palm kernel fatty acids. It is reacted with petrochemical ethylene oxide (40 mol) to give the ethoxylated surfactant.

In plain English

A cleansing ingredient made from fatty alcohols (often from coconut or palm) combined with a long chain of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-based building block. Helps water and oil mix so a product rinses cleanly.

CosIng definition: C16-18 alcohols, ethoxylated (40 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-40. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETEARETH-40. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETEARETH-40