Database/Emollient/Di-C12-13 Alkyl Tartrate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Di-C12-13 Alkyl Tartrate natural?

Mostly not. L-tartaric acid is a wine-industry by-product (natural); the branched and linear C12-13 alcohols come from petrochemical oxo chemistry, since odd-carbon C13 alcohols do not occur in natural fats.

INCI nameDi-C12-13 Alkyl Tartrate
CAS94095-06-4
FunctionEmollient · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockNatural L-tartaric acid is esterified with C12-13 branched…

How we scored it

Average C12.5 diester 500.8 Da: tartaryl C4H4O4 116.1 (tartaric acid minus two OH) natural; two C12.5H26O alkoxy groups 384.7 petrochemical; 116.1 / 500.8 = 0.23.
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

Natural L-tartaric acid is esterified with C12-13 branched and linear oxo alcohols made from petrochemical olefins. Oleochemical alcohols are even-numbered and linear, so they do not fit this INCI definition.

In plain English

An emollient oil that softens and smooths skin, made by joining tartaric acid (a wine-making by-product) to alcohols with 12 to 13 carbons. Those alcohols are typically petrochemical oxo alcohols.

CosIng definition: Butanedioic acid, 2,3-dihydroxy- [R-(R*,R*)]-, C12-13-branched and linear alkyl esters

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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. 2DI-C12-13 ALKYL TARTRATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3DI-C12-13 ALKYL TARTRATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DI-C12-13%20ALKYL%20TARTRATE