How we scored it
Where it comes from
Stearyl alcohol usually comes from hydrogenated vegetable or tallow fatty acids, ethoxylated with petrochemical ethylene oxide to add 15 EO units. Petrochemical (Ziegler) stearyl alcohol is a minor alternative feedstock.
In plain English
Steareth-15 is a fatty alcohol reacted with ethylene oxide, used as an emulsifier in creams and cleansers. The fatty part usually comes from vegetable oils, but ethoxylation uses a petroleum-based gas, so more EO means less natural mass.
CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-octadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy
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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.
- 2STEARETH-15. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 3STEARETH-15. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-15