Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Ceteth-6
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ceteth-6 natural?

Mostly not. Cetyl chain is natural oleochemical; six ethylene oxide units are petrochemical; supplied formula/MW look mismatched to a 6-EO homolog.

INCI nameCeteth-6
CAS9004-95-9
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating cetyl alcohol (typically coconut/palm-derived) with…

How we scored it

CosIng states 6 mol EO average (given formula C56H114O21/1123.5 implies ~20 EO, contradicts name/description, so description used). Cetyl C16H34O (242.4, natural) + 6 EO (264.3, petrochemical) = 242.4/506.7 = 0.48.
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

Made by ethoxylating cetyl alcohol (typically coconut/palm-derived) with an average of six moles of ethylene oxide, per the CosIng description. The supplied formula/molecular weight do not match this description and were not used.

In plain English

Made by reacting cetyl alcohol (from coconut or palm oil) with about six units of ethylene oxide. Used as an emulsifier and cleansing ingredient in creams and washes.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-hexadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (6 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. 2CETETH-6. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3CETETH-6. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CETETH-6