Database/Skin Conditioning/Retinyl Acetate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Retinyl Acetate natural?

No. Commercial retinol is manufactured synthetically from petrochemical feedstocks, and the acetate cap is likewise treated as petrochemical.

INCI nameRetinyl Acetate
CAS127-47-9
FormulaC22H32O2 · 328.5 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning
FeedstockMade by total synthesis of retinol (Vitamin A)…

How we scored it

Synthetic retinol backbone (petrochemical, per this site's convention) esterified with acetic acid; acetyl cap also petrochemical convention = 0/328 = 0.0
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 total synthesis of retinol (Vitamin A) from petrochemical building blocks, then esterified with acetic acid. No commercially significant natural-extraction route is used for cosmetic-grade material.

In plain English

A stable form of Vitamin A used in anti-aging skincare. It is manufactured synthetically from petrochemical starting materials rather than extracted from a natural source.

CosIng definition: Retinyl Acetate is the ester of Retinol and acetic acid.

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Structure

2D structure of Retinyl Acetate

[(2E,4E,6E,8E)-3,7-dimethyl-9-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohexen-1-yl)nona-2,4,6,8-tetraenyl] acetate

PubChem CID 638034 ↗

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. 2Retinyl Acetate. PubChem CID 638034. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3RETINYL ACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4RETINYL ACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=RETINYL%20ACETATE