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

Is PEG-20 Tallate natural?

Mostly not. Polyethylene glycol ester of tall oil fatty acid. The fatty-acid chain is natural; the 20-unit ethylene-oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI namePEG-20 Tallate
CAS61791-00-2
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockTall-oil fatty acids from pine pulping esterified or…

How we scored it

PEG-20 Tallate: oleoyl (proxy for tall-oil fatty acids) fragment C18H33O 265.5 Da (natural) of tall oil fatty acid 282.5 Da + 20 EO 881.1 Da = 1163.5 Da → 0.23. The ester oxygen and chain-end hydrogen go with the PEG chain, as for PEG-8 Laurate.
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

Tall-oil fatty acids from pine pulping esterified or ethoxylated with about 20 mol of ethylene oxide.

In plain English

An ester of tall oil fatty acids (from pine pulping) and ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived chemical. Used as a surfactant for emulsifying and cleansing.

CosIng definition: Fatty acids, tall-oil, ethoxylated (20 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-20 TALLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-20 TALLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-20%20TALLATE