Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-40 Soy Sterol
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-40 Soy Sterol natural?

Mostly not. Soybean sterols are natural; the larger 40-unit ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI namePEG-40 Soy Sterol
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockEthoxylation of a soybean-derived phytosterol mixture with petrochemical…

How we scored it

Soy sterol(~415 natural)+40 EO×44=1762 petrochemical; 415/2177=0.19.
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

Ethoxylation of a soybean-derived phytosterol mixture with petrochemical ethylene oxide, using more EO than the 20-mol version. No alternative route.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying ingredient made from soybean plant sterols combined with a longer synthetic petrochemical chain.

CosIng definition: Sterols, soya (Glycine soja), ethoxylated (40 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-40 SOY STEROL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-40 SOY STEROL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-40%20SOY%20STEROL