Database/Cleansing Surfactant/PEG-75 Laurate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-75 Laurate natural?

Mostly not. Lauric acid comes from coconut/palm-kernel oil; the long polyethylene glycol chain (75 units) is built from petrochemical ethylene oxide and dominates the mass.

INCI namePEG-75 Laurate
CAS9004-81-3
FunctionCleansing Surfactant
FeedstockLauric acid from coconut or palm kernel oil…

How we scored it

CosIng states 75 mol EO average, overriding the mismatched PubChem C14H28O3 formula. Lauroyl (acid-OH) 183 Da natural + PEG75 chain ~3321 Da petrochemical -> 183/3504 = 0.05.
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

Lauric acid from coconut or palm kernel oil is esterified with polyethylene glycol made by polymerising petrochemical ethylene oxide to an average of 75 units. The long PEG chain supplies almost all of the molecule's mass.

In plain English

A surfactant made by attaching coconut-derived fatty acid to a long synthetic polyethylene glycol chain. It helps cleansing products foam and disperse oil in water.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-(1-oxododecyl)-.omega.-hydroxy- (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 LAURATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-75 LAURATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-75%20LAURATE