Database/Cleansing/Steareth-30
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Steareth-30 natural?

Mostly not. The high EO count dilutes the natural fatty-alcohol fraction to a small share of total mass.

INCI nameSteareth-30
FunctionCleansing · Gel Forming
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating oleochemical stearyl alcohol with a…

How we scored it

Stearyl alcohol 270.5 Da (natural) + 30x EO 1321.6 Da (petrochemical) = 1592.1 Da. 270.5/1592.1 = 0.17.
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 a large excess of petrochemical ethylene oxide, at 30 mol EO average.

In plain English

Steareth-30 helps thicken and stabilise a formula. It's made from a fat-derived fatty alcohol combined with a large amount of ethylene oxide, a petroleum-based chemical.

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-30. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3STEARETH-30. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-30