Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/DEA-Oleth-3 Phosphate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is DEA-Oleth-3 Phosphate natural?

Mostly. Natural oleyl chain and mineral phosphate offset the petrochemical ethylene-oxide chain and synthetic diethanolamine counter-ion.

INCI nameDEA-Oleth-3 Phosphate
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleyl alcohol (oleochemical), phosphorylating it,…

How we scored it

Oleyl+phosphate (natural: ~251+97=348 Da) vs 3x ethoxy+DEA (petrochemical: ~132+105=237 Da) of 585.8 Da total -> 348/585.8 = 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

Made by ethoxylating oleyl alcohol (oleochemical), phosphorylating it, and neutralising with diethanolamine (petrochemical). No fully natural-origin route exists for the ethoxylate or amine.

In plain English

An emulsifier that blends oil and water, built from a plant/animal-derived fatty alcohol, a petroleum-derived ethylene-oxide chain, a mineral phosphate group, and a synthetic amine salt.

CosIng definition: DEA-Oleth-3 Phosphate is the diethanolamine salt of Oleth-3 Phosphate

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. 2DEA-OLETH-3 PHOSPHATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3DEA-OLETH-3 PHOSPHATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DEA-OLETH-3%20PHOSPHATE