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Is sorbeth-230 tetraoleate a PEG?
Hello all,
I am a hobbyist formulator and mostly make things for myself and family. My wife heard somewhere that PEGs are bad and has asked me if I can make everything without them, which means I will have to replace the thickener I use in my sulfate-free shampoo.
I came across something called Sorbithix l-100 and looking into the ingredients I see sorbeth-230 tetraoleate described as “the tetraester of oleic acid and a polyethylene glycol ether of sorbitol”. So my question is does this make it technically a PEG, even though “PEG” is not in the INCI?Also, just out of curiosity, if it IS a PEG could a company legally claim that their product is PEG-free even though it contains this ingredient? -
2 Replies
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There are a few misunderstandings here.
PEG stands for Polyethylene Glycol. The claim “PEG free” doesn’t have a specific legal definition so some people will make the claim as long as they think they can get away with not getting sued. Obviously if you have an ingredient with PEG in the ingredient list it would be much easier for a consumer or litigious actors to notice and sue you. Most people don’t know much about chemistry so as long as an ingredient doesn’t have PEG in the name, you can probably get away with claiming PEG free.
What you don’t seem to understand is why people think PEGs are bad. That is because these ingredients are “ethoxylated” which just means they are made by running a chemical reaction with some ingredient and ethylene oxide. Whenever you see the term “-eth” in an ingredient name, that means it’s been ethoxylated.
The concern is that ingredients that are ethoxylated have residual ethylene oxide or 1,4 Dioxane. Here is the fearmongering take on it - https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/ethoxylated-ingredients/
The reality is that there is zero evidence that ethoxylated materials as used in cosmetics represent any health risk. Dose matters and the level of these materials found in cosmetics represents no known health risk.
So, no Sorbithix is not considered a PEG but it does contain ethoxylated materials and all the exaggerated health concerns about PEG would apply to Sorbithix.
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@Perry,
Thank you for the very informative reply, this helps a lot.
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