Database/Cleansing/TEA-Myristate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is TEA-Myristate natural?

Mostly. Myristic acid comes from coconut or palm kernel oil, while triethanolamine is made from ethylene oxide and ammonia and counts as petrochemical.

INCI nameTEA-Myristate
CAS41669-40-3
FormulaC20H43NO5 · 377.6 Da
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockDominant route: neutralisation of coconut or palm kernel…

How we scored it

Myristic acid C14H28O2 228.4 natural + triethanolamine C6H15NO3 149.2 petrochemical (ethylene oxide, ammonia); 228.4/377.6 = 0.60.
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

Dominant route: neutralisation of coconut or palm kernel myristic acid with petrochemical triethanolamine. No alternative route is commercially significant.

In plain English

A soap-like salt of myristic acid and triethanolamine, used to cleanse and to help oil and water mix. Myristic acid comes from coconut or palm kernel oil; triethanolamine is made from ethylene oxide and ammonia.

CosIng definition: tris(2-Hydroxyethyl)ammonium myristate

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Structure

2D structure of TEA-Myristate

2-[bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]ethanol;tetradecanoic acid

PubChem CID 61993 ↗

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. 2TEA-Myristate. PubChem CID 61993. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TEA-MYRISTATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TEA-MYRISTATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TEA-MYRISTATE