Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-12 Distearate
Half & half · ISO 16128

Is PEG-12 Distearate natural?

Half and half. Diester of stearic acid with PEG-12. The two C18 acyl chains are oleochemical and count as natural; the twelve ethylene-oxide units are petrochemical. The split lands almost exactly at half and half, so this sits in the 50/50 band rather than the mostly-natural or mostly-petroleum bands.

INCI namePEG-12 Distearate
CAS9005-08-7
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockStearic acid from palm or tallow fats esterified…

How we scored it

Two stearoyl fragments C18H35O 2×267.5 = 535.0 Da (oleochemical stearic acid, natural); PEG-12 diester backbone C24H48O13 544.6 Da (ethylene oxide, petrochemical); total 1079.6 Da → 535.0/1079.6 = 0.4955, which rounds to 0.50. The supplied formula matched a 1-EO record and was ignored in favour of the INCI 12-EO count.
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

Stearic acid from palm or tallow fats esterified onto a polyethylene glycol of about twelve ethylene-oxide units made from petrochemical ethylene.

In plain English

A thickener and emulsifier that helps stabilize creams and lotions. It's made from two natural fatty-acid chains linked by a petroleum-derived polyethylene glycol bridge, giving a roughly half-natural, half-synthetic makeup.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-(1-oxooctadecyl)-.omega.-[(1-oxooctadecyl)oxy]- (12 mol EO average molar ratio)

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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. 2PEG-12 DISTEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-12 DISTEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-12%20DISTEARATE