How we scored it
Stearic acid + NaOH neutralisation; fatty acid natural, sodium counterion natural; no petrochemical fragment. 1.0.
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
The sodium salt of stearic acid, a fatty acid derived from vegetable oils (such as palm or coconut) or animal tallow. Neutralising base leaves only the natural sodium ion in the product.
In plain English
A cleansing and thickening ingredient found in soap bars and creams. It's simply the sodium salt of stearic acid, a fatty acid from vegetable oils (like palm or coconut) or animal fat. Fully natural-origin.
Structure
sodium octadecanoate
References
- 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.
- 2Sodium Stearate. PubChem CID 2724691. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3SODIUM STEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4SODIUM STEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20STEARATE