Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Coceth-8
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Coceth-8 natural?

Mostly not. Coconut-derived fatty alcohol blend provides the natural fragment; the ethylene oxide chain (count uncertain, see calc) is petrochemical.

INCI nameCoceth-8
CAS61791-13-7
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating coconut-oil-derived fatty alcohol with petroleum-derived…

How we scored it

Coco fatty alcohol avg ~200 Da (natural) + 8xEO 44.05=352.4 Da (petrochemical, per '8' in INCI name) -> total 552.4 Da; 200/552.4 = 0.36. NOTE: cosing_description text says '5 mol EO', contradicting the name.
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 coconut-oil-derived fatty alcohol with petroleum-derived ethylene oxide. Source data conflicts on the exact EO count (name says 8, description says 5); scored using the name.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying ingredient made from coconut-derived fatty alcohols joined to ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived building block. Helps oil and water mix in cleansers; source data on the exact ethylene oxide count was inconsistent.

CosIng definition: Alcohols, coco, ethoxylated (5 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. 2COCETH-8. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3COCETH-8. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=COCETH-8