Database/Emulsifying Surfactant/Trideceth-12
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Trideceth-12 natural?

No. Isotridecyl alcohol is a branched petrochemical oxo-alcohol, not an oleochemical fatty alcohol; the ethoxylate chain is also petrochemical.

INCI nameTrideceth-12
CAS24938-91-8
FormulaC15H32O2 · 244.41 Da
FunctionEmulsifying Surfactant · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockMade by ethoxylating isotridecanol, a branched synthetic alcohol…

How we scored it

Isotridecanol (branched C13 oxo-alcohol, petrochemical) ethoxylated with 12 EO (petrochemical); both fragments 0 regardless of exact EO count.
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 isotridecanol, a branched synthetic alcohol from propylene oligomerisation (oxo process), with ethylene oxide. The supplied formula/MW match a single-EO unit rather than the 12-EO average implied by the INCI name; the 0.0 result is unaffected since both fragments score zero.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying surfactant made by reacting a branched synthetic alcohol, isotridecanol, with ethylene oxide. Both building blocks come from petrochemical feedstocks.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-tridecyl-.omega.-hydroxy; Isotridecanol, ethoxylated

Natural alternatives with the same function

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Structure

2D structure of Trideceth-12

2-tridecoxyethanol

PubChem CID 38049 ↗

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. 2Trideceth-12. PubChem CID 38049. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3TRIDECETH-12. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4TRIDECETH-12. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TRIDECETH-12