Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-60 Castor Oil
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-60 Castor Oil natural?

Mostly not. Natural non-hydrogenated castor oil backbone carries a long 60-mol petrochemical ethylene oxide chain.

INCI namePEG-60 Castor Oil
CAS61791-12-6
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockNatural castor oil is directly ethoxylated, without prior…

How we scored it

Castor oil triglyceride 933.5 Da (natural) + 60x EO 44.05 Da = 2643.2 Da (petrochemical) -> 933.5/3576.6=0.26.
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

Natural castor oil is directly ethoxylated, without prior hydrogenation, with 60 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No bio-based ethoxylation alternative is used commercially.

In plain English

A surfactant made from natural castor oil reacted with a long petroleum-derived chain, used to cleanse and help oil and water mix together.

CosIng definition: Castor oil, ethoxylated (60 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-60 CASTOR OIL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-60 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-60%20CASTOR%20OIL