Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Laneth-5
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Laneth-5 natural?

Mostly. Lanolin alcohol is natural, derived from wool grease; the ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI nameLaneth-5
CAS61791-20-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockLanolin alcohols, recovered from wool grease during wool…

How we scored it

Lanolin alcohol ~350 Da (natural, wool wax) + 5 EO x 44.05 = 220.25 Da (petrochemical) = 350/570.25 = 0.61
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

Lanolin alcohols, recovered from wool grease during wool scouring, are ethoxylated with petrochemical ethylene oxide to the stated degree. No natural alternative to the ethylene oxide exists.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying ingredient made from lanolin (wool grease) reacted with a small amount of petrochemical ethylene oxide.

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-5. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3LANETH-5. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LANETH-5