Database/Emollient/PEG-75 Lanolin
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-75 Lanolin natural?

Mostly not. Natural sheep's-wool wax core is diluted by a large petrochemical ethylene-oxide chain added to improve water solubility.

INCI namePEG-75 Lanolin
CAS61790-81-6
FunctionEmollient · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockPEG-75 Lanolin starts from lanolin, the natural wax…

How we scored it

Lanolin (natural wax, assumed MW~400) + 75 mol ethylene oxide (petrochemical, 75x44.05=3304 Da) → 400/3704 = 0.11
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-75 Lanolin starts from lanolin, the natural wax from sheep's wool, reacted with about 75 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide to make it water-soluble. The heavy ethoxylation means the final ingredient is mostly petrochemical by mass.

In plain English

An emulsifying, moisturizing ingredient made from sheep's-wool wax that has been heavily modified with a petroleum-derived chemical (ethylene oxide) so it mixes into watery products.

CosIng definition: Lanolin, ethoxylated (75 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-75 LANOLIN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-75 LANOLIN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-75%20LANOLIN