How we scored it
C6 straight-chain alcohol; below the C8 threshold used for the natural-fatty-alcohol assumption. Commercial hexanol is chiefly a petrochemical oxo-process alcohol.
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
Produced industrially by the oxo (hydroformylation) process from petrochemical olefins, or by Ziegler chain-growth from ethylene. A minor natural fraction exists in coconut/palm fatty-alcohol distillation but is not the typical commercial source.
In plain English
A solvent and mild surfactant used in cleansers and fragrances, and to help control foam. Usually made synthetically from petrochemical feedstocks rather than from plant oils.
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Structure
hexan-1-ol
References
- 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.
- 2Hexyl Alcohol. PubChem CID 8103. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3HEXYL ALCOHOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4HEXYL ALCOHOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HEXYL%20ALCOHOL