Database/Preservative/Sodium Ethylparaben
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Ethylparaben natural?

Mostly not. Ethylparaben's aromatic ring is petrochemical, from phenol/benzoic-acid chemistry; only the sodium counter-ion is natural mineral mass.

INCI nameSodium Ethylparaben
CAS35285-68-8
FormulaC9H9NaO3 · 188.16 Da
FunctionPreservative
FeedstockMade by neutralising petrochemical ethylparaben (esterified 4-hydroxybenzoic acid)…

How we scored it

Ethylparaben C9H9O3 165 Da (petro, phenol-derived) + Na 23 Da (natural counter-ion); 23/188=0.12
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 neutralising petrochemical ethylparaben (esterified 4-hydroxybenzoic acid) with sodium hydroxide. No natural-origin route exists for the paraben ring.

In plain English

The sodium salt of ethylparaben, a preservative made from petroleum-derived chemicals. Helps prevent microbial growth in a formula.

CosIng definition: Sodium Ethylparaben is the sodium salt of Ethylparaben (q.v.) that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Sodium Ethylparaben

sodium 4-ethoxycarbonylphenolate

PubChem CID 23681179 ↗

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. 2Sodium Ethylparaben. PubChem CID 23681179. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SODIUM ETHYLPARABEN. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SODIUM ETHYLPARABEN. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20ETHYLPARABEN