Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-6 Sorbitan Oleate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is PEG-6 Sorbitan Oleate natural?

Mostly. Natural sugar-alcohol and vegetable-oil oleic-acid core outweighs the short petrochemical ethoxylate chain.

INCI namePEG-6 Sorbitan Oleate
CAS9005-65-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade from sorbitol esterified with oleic acid from…

How we scored it

Sorbitan+oleic acid core 428.6 Da (natural) + 6 EO x44=264 Da petrochemical; 428.6/692.6=0.62.
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

Made from sorbitol esterified with oleic acid from vegetable oil, then ethoxylated with petrochemical ethylene oxide.

In plain English

An emulsifier made from plant sugar and vegetable-oil fatty acid, lightly modified with ethylene oxide to blend oil and water.

CosIng definition: Sorbitan, mono-9-octadecenoate, poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) derivs., (Z)- (6 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-6 SORBITAN OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-6 SORBITAN OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-6%20SORBITAN%20OLEATE