Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-20 Oleate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-20 Oleate natural?

Mostly not. Oleic acid is oleochemical/natural; the 20-unit ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI namePEG-20 Oleate
CAS9004-96-0
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMonoester of oleic acid (vegetable oil) with PEG-20…

How we scored it

Oleoyl acyl(265) natural; PEG-20 chain backbone(898) petrochemical; supplied formula matched n=1 not 20, recalculated; 265/1164=0.23.
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

Monoester of oleic acid (vegetable oil) with PEG-20 made from petrochemical ethylene oxide.

In plain English

An emulsifying and cleansing ingredient made from oleic acid, a natural vegetable-oil fatty acid, combined with a synthetic petrochemical PEG chain.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-(1-oxo-9-octadecenyl)-.omega.-hydroxy-, (Z)- (20 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-20 OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-20 OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-20%20OLEATE