Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-36 Castor Oil
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-36 Castor Oil natural?

Mostly not. The natural castor-oil core is diluted by a larger 36-unit petrochemical ethoxylate chain.

INCI namePEG-36 Castor Oil
CAS61791-12-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockPEG-36 Castor Oil is castor bean oil reacted…

How we scored it

Castor oil ~933Da (natural) + 36 mol ethylene oxide ~1586Da (petrochemical) = 2519Da total; 933/2519=0.37.
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-36 Castor Oil is castor bean oil reacted with 36 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. The higher EO count means more than half the final mass is synthetic.

In plain English

An emulsifier made from castor bean oil substantially reacted with a petroleum-based compound. More than half its final weight is now synthetic.

CosIng definition: Castor oil, ethoxylated (36 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-36 CASTOR OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-36 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-36%20CASTOR%20OIL