How we scored it
Unsaponifiable fraction of olive oil (squalene, sterols, tocopherols, triterpene alcohols, hydrocarbons) is all oil-derived (n=1); separation adds no mass. 1 / 1 = 1.0.
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.
Where it comes from
The fraction of olive oil that does not saponify is recovered and concentrated during the refining of olive oil fatty acids. No synthetic route exists; any carrier oil would be declared separately on the INCI.
In plain English
The oil-soluble part of olive oil that stays behind when the oil is split into soap or fatty acids, rich in squalene and plant sterols. It is used in skin and hair care for conditioning, and comes entirely from olives.
CosIng definition: Olea Europaea (Olive) Oil Unsaponifiables is the fraction of olive oil which is not saponified in the refining recovery of olive oil fatty acids.
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.
- 2OLEA EUROPAEA OIL UNSAPONIFIABLES. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3OLEA EUROPAEA OIL UNSAPONIFIABLES. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=OLEA%20EUROPAEA%20OIL%20UNSAPONIFIABLES