How we scored it
Where it comes from
Steareth-6 is made by ethoxylating stearyl alcohol (an oleochemical C18 fatty alcohol) with 6 moles of petrochemical ethylene oxide. No alternative bio-based ethoxylation route is commercially used.
In plain English
An emulsifier made from a fatty alcohol derived from vegetable or animal fats reacted with petrochemical ethylene oxide.
CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-octadecyl-.omega.-hydroxy
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Structure
2-[2-[2-[2-[2-(2-octadecoxyethoxy)ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethoxy]ethanol
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-6. PubChem CID 75493. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3STEARETH-6. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4STEARETH-6. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARETH-6