Database/Cleansing Surfactant/Oleth-3 Phosphate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Oleth-3 Phosphate natural?

Mostly. Natural oleyl alcohol and the mineral-origin phosphate group outweigh the petrochemical ethylene-oxide chain.

INCI nameOleth-3 Phosphate
CAS39464-69-2
FormulaC24H49O7P · 480.6 Da
FunctionCleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleochemical oleyl alcohol with 3…

How we scored it

Oleyl 268.5 Da (natural) + phosphate group ~81 Da (natural, mineral) + 3 EO 132.2 Da (petrochemical) → (268.5+81)/481.6 ≈ 0.73.
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

Made by ethoxylating oleochemical oleyl alcohol with 3 moles ethylene oxide, then esterifying with phosphoric acid. Mono/di-ester ratio is not specified by the name.

In plain English

A cleansing ingredient made from plant-derived oleyl alcohol, ethylene oxide and mineral phosphate. Used as a mild surfactant that helps formulas cleanse while conditioning skin.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-9-octadecenyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (Z)-, phosphate (3 mol EO average molar ratio)

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Structure

2D structure of Oleth-3 Phosphate

2-[2-[2-[(Z)-octadec-9-enoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethyl dihydrogen phosphate

PubChem CID 17754289 ↗

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. 2Oleth-3 Phosphate. PubChem CID 17754289. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3OLETH-3 PHOSPHATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4OLETH-3 PHOSPHATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=OLETH-3%20PHOSPHATE