Database/Fragrance/Diethylene Glycol
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Diethylene Glycol natural?

No. Diethylene glycol is made from ethylene oxide, an explicitly petrochemical building block.

INCI nameDiethylene Glycol
CAS111-46-6
FormulaC4H10O3 · 106.12 Da
FunctionFragrance · Solvent
FeedstockManufactured by hydrating ethylene oxide (from petrochemical ethylene).…

How we scored it

Ether-glycol built from two ethylene oxide units, petrochemical -eth- chain → 0/106 = 0.0.
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

Manufactured by hydrating ethylene oxide (from petrochemical ethylene). No natural route exists commercially.

In plain English

A solvent and fragrance ingredient made from petroleum-derived ethylene oxide. Entirely synthetic.

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Structure

2D structure of Diethylene Glycol

2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethanol

PubChem CID 8117 ↗

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. 2Diethylene Glycol. PubChem CID 8117. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DIETHYLENE GLYCOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DIETHYLENE GLYCOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DIETHYLENE%20GLYCOL