How we scored it
Where it comes from
Made by ethoxylating coconut/palm-derived lauryl alcohol with 5 moles of ethylene oxide. The lauryl portion is natural; the ethoxylate chain is petrochemical.
In plain English
A mild surfactant made from coconut/palm-derived lauryl alcohol reacted with ethylene oxide. Used as an emulsifier and cleansing ingredient in personal care products.
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Structure
2-[2-[2-[2-(2-dodecoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethanol
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.
- 2Laureth-5. PubChem CID 18281. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3LAURETH-5. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4LAURETH-5. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LAURETH-5