Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Laneth-10
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Laneth-10 natural?

Mostly not. Natural lanolin-alcohol fraction is diluted by a petrochemical ethylene-oxide chain added for water solubility.

INCI nameLaneth-10
CAS61791-20-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockLaneth-10 is the alcohol fraction of lanolin (sheep's-wool…

How we scored it

Lanolin alcohols (natural, assumed MW~390) + 10 mol ethylene oxide (petrochemical, 10x44.05=441 Da) → 390/831 = 0.47
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

Laneth-10 is the alcohol fraction of lanolin (sheep's-wool wax) reacted with about 10 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. Natural and petrochemical mass are close to even, just under half natural.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying ingredient made from sheep's-wool-derived alcohols that have been modified with a petroleum-based chemical to help oil and water mix.

CosIng definition: Alcohols, lanolin, ethoxylated

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. 2LANETH-10. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3LANETH-10. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LANETH-10