Database/Cleansing Surfactant/Potassium Trideceth-6 Phosphate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Potassium Trideceth-6 Phosphate natural?

Mostly not. Odd-carbon (C13) tridecyl alcohol is almost always a synthetic oxo-alcohol, and the ethoxylate chain is petrochemical; only the phosphate/potassium are mineral.

INCI namePotassium Trideceth-6 Phosphate
FunctionCleansing Surfactant
FeedstockTridecyl (isotridecyl) alcohol, a petrochemical oxo-process alcohol, is…

How we scored it

No MW given; est. tridecyl (C13 oxo-alcohol, petrochemical) ~200Da + 6 EO ~264Da petrochemical; K+phosphate natural ~120Da -> NOI ~120/584 ~ 0.20.
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

Tridecyl (isotridecyl) alcohol, a petrochemical oxo-process alcohol, is ethoxylated with 6 mol ethylene oxide then phosphorylated and neutralised with potassium hydroxide.

In plain English

A mild cleansing surfactant. Its odd-numbered carbon chain signals a petrochemical synthetic alcohol rather than a plant fatty alcohol, and it also contains petrochemical ethylene-oxide units, so it is mostly non-renewable.

CosIng definition: Potassium polyoxyethylene(6) tridecyl ether phosphate

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. 2POTASSIUM TRIDECETH-6 PHOSPHATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POTASSIUM TRIDECETH-6 PHOSPHATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POTASSIUM%20TRIDECETH-6%20PHOSPHATE