Laureth-2 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient functions mainly as a nonionic surfactant, emulsifier, and solubilizer, helping oils, fragrance components, and cleansing agents disperse evenly in water-based formulas.
What does Laureth-2 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient functions mainly as a nonionic surfactant, emulsifier, and solubilizer, helping oils, fragrance components, and cleansing agents disperse evenly in water-based formulas.
Is Laureth-2 clean?
It has clean-standard friction because it is made through ethoxylation, a process that requires tight control of residual ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. Skin irritation is usually low at normal rinse-off levels, but impurity control and restricted-list policies are the main issues.
Is Laureth-2 sustainable?
It is typically made from a fatty alcohol that may come from coconut or palm sources, combined with a petrochemical ethoxylation step. This class is generally biodegradable, but renewable sourcing and palm-chain traceability vary by supplier.
Is Laureth-2 COSMOS-approved?
It is generally not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic because ethoxylated ingredients are outside the standard’s allowed chemistry. From a Green Chemistry view, it is partly bio-based when the fatty alcohol is plant derived, but the petrochemical processing and contaminant-control burden weaken its alignment.
How does Laureth-2 work chemically?
The molecule is a low-ethoxylation nonionic fatty-alcohol ether, which gives it oil affinity with limited water dispersibility compared with higher-ethoxylation versions. It is stable across a broad cosmetic pH range and is often paired with other surfactants or emulsifiers to tune foam, solubilization, and emulsion structure.
Last updated 2026-05-13