Database/Cleansing/Steareth-25
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Steareth-25 natural?

Mostly not. The stearyl (C18) fatty-alcohol backbone is oleochemical and natural, but the 25 ethylene-oxide units making up most of the molecule's mass are petrochemical by this site's convention.

INCI nameSteareth-25
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating stearyl alcohol, typically from vegetable…

How we scored it

No formula/MW supplied; description omits EO count, so used name Steareth-25 (25 mol EO). Stearyl alcohol C18H38O=270.5 Da natural; 25xC2H4O=1101.3 Da petrochemical. 270.5/1371.8=0.20.
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 (palm/coconut) or tallow fat, with about 25 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No natural-origin alternative to the ethoxylation step exists.

In plain English

Steareth-25 is a wax-like emulsifier made by reacting stearyl alcohol (from vegetable or animal fat) with a long chain of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-derived building block. It helps blend oil and water in creams.

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-25. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3STEARETH-25. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-25