Database/Cleansing/PEG-80 Stearate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-80 Stearate natural?

Mostly not. Polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid. The fatty-acid chain is natural; the 80-unit ethylene-oxide chain is petrochemical.

INCI namePEG-80 Stearate
CAS9004-99-3
FunctionCleansing · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockVegetable or tallow stearic acid esterified or ethoxylated…

How we scored it

PEG-80 Stearate: stearoyl fragment C18H35O 267.5 Da (natural) of stearic acid 284.5 Da + 80 EO 3524.2 Da = 3808.7 Da → 0.07. The ester oxygen and chain-end hydrogen go with the PEG chain, as for PEG-8 Laurate.
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

Vegetable or tallow stearic acid esterified or ethoxylated with about 80 mol of ethylene oxide.

In plain English

A cleansing ingredient made from stearic acid (from fats) joined to a long chain of 80 petrochemical ethylene-oxide units. Almost all its weight is the synthetic chain.

CosIng definition: PEG-80 Stearate is the polyethylene glycol ester of stearic acid

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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-80 STEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-80 STEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-80%20STEARATE