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

Is Ceteth-30 natural?

Mostly not. Cetyl (C16) fatty alcohol is oleochemical; the longer 30-unit ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical and dilutes the natural fraction further than Ceteth-16.

INCI nameCeteth-30
CAS9004-95-9
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockCetyl alcohol, usually from coconut or palm oil,…

How we scored it

Supplied formula/MW is identical to the Ceteth-16 entry, a data mismatch; used CosIng's 30 mol EO instead. Cetyl alcohol 242.4 Da natural + 30xC2H4O (1321.5 Da) petrochemical=1563.9 total. 242.4/1563.9=0.155->0.16.
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 alcohol, usually from coconut or palm oil, is reacted with petrochemical ethylene oxide to add 30 EO units on average. Ethylene oxide has no natural-origin cosmetic-scale source.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying ingredient made by attaching a long chain of ethylene oxide, a petrochemical building block, to cetyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol typically from coconut or palm oil. Helps blend oil and water in formulas.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-hexadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (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. 2CETETH-30. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETETH-30. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETETH-30