Database/Cleansing/Steareth-16
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Steareth-16 natural?

Mostly not. Stearyl alcohol is oleochemical; the 16 ethylene-oxide units added are petrochemical.

INCI nameSteareth-16
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating stearyl alcohol, typically from vegetable…

How we scored it

Stearyl alcohol 270 Da natural + 16 EO x44 Da petrochemical = 975 Da total; 270/975=0.28.
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 ethoxylating stearyl alcohol, typically from vegetable or tallow fatty acids, with about 16 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide.

In plain English

An emulsifier made from a fatty alcohol reacted with a synthetic thickening chemical to help cleanse and blend formulas.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-octadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy

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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. 2STEARETH-16. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3STEARETH-16. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-16