How we scored it
Essential oil of plant-biosynthesised terpenoids (menthol, menthone, menthyl acetate, limonene), all n=1, so 1.0 (b). Plant-made acetate is not a petrochemical cap.
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
Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) herb, grown mainly in the USA, is steam-distilled for the oil. Oils blended with synthetic menthol exist but are not the INCI-defined distillate.
In plain English
Peppermint essential oil, steam-distilled from the flowers, leaves and stems of the peppermint plant. It is listed as a skin-conditioning ingredient and gives a minty scent. Its main components, menthol and menthone, are made by the plant.
CosIng definition: Mentha Piperita Flower/Leaf/Stem Oil is the volatile oil obtained from the flowers, leaves and stems of Mentha piperita, Lamiaceae. The accepted scientific name for Mentha piperita is Mentha x piperita.
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.
- 2MENTHA PIPERITA FLOWER/LEAF/STEM OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3MENTHA PIPERITA FLOWER/LEAF/STEM OIL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=MENTHA%20PIPERITA%20FLOWER/LEAF/STEM%20OIL