Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/PEG-9 Oleate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is PEG-9 Oleate natural?

Mostly not. The oleic acid chain comes from vegetable oil; the shorter 9-unit ethylene oxide chain is petrochemical but contributes less mass than longer PEGs.

INCI namePEG-9 Oleate
CAS9004-96-0
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleic acid (typically from vegetable…

How we scored it

Oleoyl (C18H33O, 265 Da, vegetable-oil derived) esterified to PEG-9 (9 EO, ~414 Da, petrochemical) minus H2O: 265/679 ≈ 0.39.
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 by ethoxylating oleic acid (typically from vegetable oils) with 9 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No major alternative route.

In plain English

An emulsifier made by combining plant-derived oleic acid with a short chain of ethylene oxide. Roughly two-fifths of its weight traces back to the natural oil; the rest is petroleum-derived.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-(1-oxo-9-octadecenyl)-.omega.-hydroxy-, (Z)- (9 mol EO average molar ratio)

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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-9 OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3PEG-9 OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PEG-9%20OLEATE