Database/Skin Conditioning/Retinyl Oleate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Retinyl Oleate natural?

Mostly not. Oleic acid from vegetable or animal fat is natural, but retinol is made by petrochemical total synthesis, so only the oleoyl chain counts.

INCI nameRetinyl Oleate
CAS631-88-9
FormulaC38H62O2 · 550.9 Da
FunctionSkin Conditioning
FeedstockSynthetic retinol, built industrially from petrochemical building blocks…

How we scored it

C38H62O2 551 Da. Natural: oleoyl C18H33O 265 Da (oleic acid from fats and oils). Petrochemical: retinyloxy C20H29O 285 Da (synthetic retinol). 265/551 = 0.48.
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

Synthetic retinol, built industrially from petrochemical building blocks such as acetone, acetylene and isobutylene, is esterified with oleic acid from vegetable oil. Retinol from fish-liver oil or fermentation exists but is not commercially significant for cosmetic supply.

In plain English

A fat-soluble ester of vitamin A (retinol) and oleic acid, used as a skin-conditioning ingredient. Esterifying retinol makes it more stable than the free form. The oleic acid comes from vegetable oil while the retinol is made synthetically.

CosIng definition: Retinyl Oleate is the ester of Retinol and Oleic Acid

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Structure

2D structure of Retinyl Oleate

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

PubChem CID 11699609 ↗

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 Oleate. PubChem CID 11699609. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3RETINYL OLEATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4RETINYL OLEATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=RETINYL%20OLEATE