Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-50 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-50 Hydrogenated Castor Oil natural?

Mostly not. Natural castor oil backbone carries a long 50-mol petrochemical ethylene oxide chain, so petrochemical mass dominates.

INCI namePEG-50 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
CAS61788-85-0
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockHydrogenated natural castor oil is ethoxylated with 50…

How we scored it

Hydrogenated castor oil 939.5 Da (natural) + 50x EO 44.05 Da = 2202.7 Da (petrochemical) -> 939.5/3142.1=0.30.
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

Hydrogenated natural castor oil is ethoxylated with 50 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No bio-based ethoxylating agent is used commercially at this scale.

In plain English

A mild emulsifier made from hydrogenated castor oil with a long petroleum-derived chain, used to help blend oil and water in a formula.

CosIng definition: Castor oil (Ricinus communis), hydrogenated, ethoxylated (50 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-50 HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-50 HYDROGENATED 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-50%20HYDROGENATED%20CASTOR%20OIL