How we scored it
Single C16 saturated fatty acid, oleochemical hydrolysis product of natural fats → 1.00.
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
Obtained by hydrolysing palm oil or other natural fats and separating the C16 fatty acid fraction. No significant petrochemical route is used commercially.
In plain English
A fatty acid found naturally in palm oil, used to cleanse and to help stabilise creams. It is extracted directly from vegetable oil, not synthesised from petroleum.
Structure
hexadecanoic acid
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.
- 2Palmitic Acid. PubChem CID 985. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3PALMITIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4PALMITIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PALMITIC%20ACID