Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Hexylene Glycol
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Hexylene Glycol natural?

No. Built entirely from petrochemical acetone; no natural-origin fragment in the synthesis route.

INCI nameHexylene Glycol
CAS107-41-5
FormulaC6H14O2 · 118.17 Da
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockManufactured by hydrogenating diacetone alcohol, itself made from…

How we scored it

Made via hydrogenation of diacetone alcohol (acetone dimer); acetone is petrochemical (cumene process) → 0/118 = 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.

How it’s made

Base-catalysed aldol addition of acetone to itself. The film draws the key step and names the steps after it. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Manufactured by hydrogenating diacetone alcohol, itself made from petroleum-derived acetone. No commercial bio-based route is used.

In plain English

A small synthetic diol used as a solvent and to help products feel lighter and dissolve other ingredients. Made from petrochemical acetone, not from plants.

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 C10-16 Alkyl Glucoside 100% natural origin

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 C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside 100% natural origin

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Structure

2D structure of Hexylene Glycol

2-methylpentane-2,4-diol

PubChem CID 7870 ↗

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. 2Hexylene Glycol. PubChem CID 7870. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HEXYLENE GLYCOL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HEXYLENE GLYCOL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HEXYLENE%20GLYCOL