Database/Cleansing/Sodium Stearoyl Methyl Isethionate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Stearoyl Methyl Isethionate natural?

Mostly. Stearic acid is from vegetable oil and the sulfonate and sodium are mineral, but the three-carbon propylene oxide unit of methyl isethionate is petrochemical.

INCI nameSodium Stearoyl Methyl Isethionate
FunctionCleansing · Foam Boosting Surfactant
FeedstockDominant route: esterification of oleochemical stearic acid with…

How we scored it

Natural: stearoyl C18H35O 267.5 + SO3Na 103.1 = 370.5. Petrochemical: C3H6O 58.1 (propylene oxide unit of methyl isethionate). Total 428.6; 370.5/428.6 = 0.86.
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

Dominant route: esterification of oleochemical stearic acid with sodium methyl isethionate, made from propylene oxide and sodium bisulfite. Assumed from the usual methyl isethionate chemistry, as no grade-specific supplier statement was available.

In plain English

A foaming cleansing surfactant used in bars and washes. It joins stearic acid from vegetable oil to methyl isethionate, a small sulfonated unit made from propylene oxide.

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 STEAROYL METHYL ISETHIONATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3SODIUM STEAROYL METHYL ISETHIONATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20STEAROYL%20METHYL%20ISETHIONATE