How we scored it
Triglycerol (3 glycerin units, natural) etherified with cetyl alcohol (C16 fatty alcohol, natural); only condensation water lost, no petrochemical fragment.
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
Manufactured by etherifying vegetable-glycerin-derived polyglycerol with coconut- or palm-derived cetyl alcohol. Cosmetic-grade cetyl alcohol is predominantly oleochemical, though a synthetic (petrochemical) cetyl alcohol also exists.
In plain English
An emulsifier made by linking glycerin units together and attaching cetyl alcohol, a fatty alcohol typically from coconut or palm oil. It helps blend water and oil in creams and lotions.
CosIng definition: 1,2,3-Propanetriol, homopolymer, hexadecyl ethers (1:1) (3 mol glycerol average molar ratio)
References
- 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.
- 2POLYGLYCERYL-3 CETYL ETHER. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3POLYGLYCERYL-3 CETYL ETHER. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYGLYCERYL-3%20CETYL%20ETHER