How we scored it
Sorbitan (from sorbitol dehydration) esterified with stearic acid (1:1.5 ratio); both natural fragments = 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.
How it’s made
Where it comes from
Made by dehydrating glucose-derived sorbitol to sorbitan, then esterifying with stearic acid from vegetable or animal fat. No petrochemical fragment is introduced by this chemistry.
In plain English
An emulsifier made by combining stearic acid (a plant/animal fat-derived fatty acid) with sorbitan, which comes from the sugar alcohol sorbitol. Helps blend oil and water together in creams and lotions.
CosIng definition: Sorbitan, octadecanoate (2:3)
Structure
tris((3R,4S)-2-[(1R)-1,2-dihydroxyethyl]oxolane-3,4-diol);bis(octadecanoic acid)
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.
- 2Sorbitan Sesquistearate. PubChem CID 171093. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3SORBITAN SESQUISTEARATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4SORBITAN SESQUISTEARATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SORBITAN%20SESQUISTEARATE