Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-120 Distearate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-120 Distearate natural?

Mostly not. Polyethylene glycol diester of stearic acid. Both fatty-acid chains are natural; the 120-unit ethylene-oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI namePEG-120 Distearate
CAS9005-08-7
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockVegetable or tallow stearic acid esterified at both…

How we scored it

PEG-120 Distearate: two stearoyl fragments 2×C18H35O 535.0 Da (natural) on a PEG-120 chain; PEG-120 5304.4 Da + 2×stearic acid 569.0 Da − 2 H2O = 5837.3 Da → 0.09. The ester oxygens go with the PEG chain, as for PEG-4 Dilaurate.
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

Vegetable or tallow stearic acid esterified at both ends of polyethylene glycol (about 120 ethylene-oxide units).

In plain English

A wax-like ingredient made from vegetable-derived stearic acid attached to a long petroleum-derived polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain. Used as an emulsifier and cleansing ingredient.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-(1-oxooctadecyl)-.omega.-[(1-oxooctadecyl)oxy]- (120 mol EO average molar ratio)

Natural alternatives with the same function

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-120 DISTEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-120 DISTEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-120%20DISTEARATE