Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Steareth-3
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Steareth-3 natural?

Mostly. The low EO count means most of the molecule's mass is still the natural oleochemical stearyl-alcohol chain.

INCI nameSteareth-3
CAS4439-32-1
FormulaC24H50O4 · 402.7 Da
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleochemical stearyl alcohol with petrochemical…

How we scored it

Stearyl alcohol C18H38O 270.5 Da (natural) + 3x EO 132.2 Da (petrochemical) = 402.7 Da (matches given MW). 270.5/402.7 = 0.67.
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 oleochemical stearyl alcohol with petrochemical ethylene oxide, at only 3 mol EO average.

In plain English

Steareth-3 is an emulsifier made from a fat-derived fatty alcohol reacted with a small amount of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-based chemical.

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

Natural alternatives with the same function

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Structure

2D structure of Steareth-3

2-[2-(2-octadecoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethanol

PubChem CID 4172276 ↗

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-3. PubChem CID 4172276. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3STEARETH-3. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4STEARETH-3. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-3