Database/Cleansing/Trideceth-20
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Trideceth-20 natural?

No. Both the branched C13 alcohol and the polyoxyethylene chain derive from petrochemical feedstocks (propylene-tetramer oxo-alcohol; ethylene oxide).

INCI nameTrideceth-20
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockManufactured by ethoxylating isotridecanol, a branched C13 alcohol…

How we scored it

Tridecyl alcohol (industrially isotridecanol, branched, petrochemical) + 20 EO (petrochemical) = 0/total = 0.0. No formula/CAS supplied for this entry.
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

Manufactured by ethoxylating isotridecanol, a branched C13 alcohol made industrially from propylene tetramer via the oxo (hydroformylation) process; commercial 'tridecyl alcohol' surfactant feedstock is essentially always this branched material. No natural route exists.

In plain English

A cleansing and emulsifying surfactant made from synthetic isotridecanol, a branched petrochemical alcohol, reacted with a long chain of ethylene oxide.

CosIng definition: Poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), .alpha.-tridecyl-.omega.-hydroxy- (20 mol EO average molar ratio)

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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. 2TRIDECETH-20. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3TRIDECETH-20. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TRIDECETH-20