Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-35 Castor Oil
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-35 Castor Oil natural?

Mostly not. Natural castor oil triglyceride ethoxylated with 35 petrochemical ethylene-oxide units; the long EO chain dominates total molecular mass.

INCI namePEG-35 Castor Oil
CAS61791-12-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockPEG-35 Castor Oil is made by reacting castor…

How we scored it

Castor oil triglyceride (~933 Da, natural) + 35 x ethylene oxide (44.05 Da each, petrochemical) = 933/2475 = 0.38.
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

PEG-35 Castor Oil is made by reacting castor oil, pressed from castor beans, with ethylene oxide, a petrochemical, to give an average 35-unit ethoxylate. The EO chain makes up most of the mass.

In plain English

Castor oil, from castor beans, reacted with a chain of ethylene oxide, a petrochemical. Used as an emulsifying and cleansing surfactant, often in fragrance and bath products.

CosIng definition: Castor oil, ethoxylated (35 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-35 CASTOR OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-35 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-35%20CASTOR%20OIL