Database/Skin Conditioning/Propylene Glycol Stearate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Propylene Glycol Stearate natural?

Mostly. Stearic acid fragment is a natural oleochemical fatty acid; the propylene glycol fragment is explicitly petrochemical (propylene oxide-derived).

INCI namePropylene Glycol Stearate
CAS1323-39-3
FormulaC21H42O3 · 342.6 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockPropylene Glycol Stearate is the ester of natural…

How we scored it

Ester split: octadecanoate (stearic acid acyl, natural) 283.5Da + 2-hydroxypropyl (propylene glycol, petrochemical) 59Da = 342.6Da MW. 283.5/342.6≈0.83.
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

Propylene Glycol Stearate is the ester of natural stearic acid (from vegetable/animal fat) and propylene glycol, which is manufactured from petrochemical propylene oxide. The fatty acid portion dominates the molecule's mass.

In plain English

A skin-conditioning and cleansing ingredient made by combining a natural fatty acid with a petrochemical-derived glycol. Most of its weight comes from the natural fatty acid.

CosIng definition: Stearic acid, monoester with propane-1,2-diol

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Structure

2D structure of Propylene Glycol Stearate

2-hydroxypropyl octadecanoate

PubChem CID 14878 ↗

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. 2Propylene Glycol Stearate. PubChem CID 14878. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3PROPYLENE GLYCOL STEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4PROPYLENE GLYCOL STEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PROPYLENE%20GLYCOL%20STEARATE