How we scored it
Where it comes from
Hydrogenated natural castor oil is reacted with 20 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide to form a shorter PEG chain than the higher-EO grades. No bio-based ethoxylation alternative is used commercially.
In plain English
An emulsifier made from hydrogenated castor oil combined with a petroleum-derived chemical, used to blend oil and water together in creams and washes.
CosIng definition: Castor oil (Ricinus communis), hydrogenated, ethoxylated (20 mol EO average molar ratio)
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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.
- 2PEG-20 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3PEG-20 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-20%20HYDROGENATED%20CASTOR%20OIL