Peg-2m ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is used mainly as a viscosity builder, binder, film former, and slip enhancer in gels, creams, hair products, and cleansing formulas. It helps improve cushion, glide, and product stability at relatively low levels.
What does Peg-2m do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is used mainly as a viscosity builder, binder, film former, and slip enhancer in gels, creams, hair products, and cleansing formulas. It helps improve cushion, glide, and product stability at relatively low levels.
Is Peg-2m clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is ethoxylated and may be associated with trace processing residues such as 1,4-dioxane or residual ethylene oxide if purification is not well controlled. It is generally low-irritation on skin, but many clean standards restrict or exclude this ingredient class for processing reasons.
Is Peg-2m sustainable?
This material is synthetic and usually derived from petrochemical feedstocks. It is water-soluble, but its very high molecular weight can make environmental breakdown slower than simpler small molecules, so its sustainability profile is not strong.
Is Peg-2m COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because this ingredient class relies on ethoxylation. From a Green Chemistry view, it has useful low-dose performance, but petrochemical sourcing, extra purification needs, and limited renewable-feedstock alignment are drawbacks.
How does Peg-2m work chemically?
This molecule is a very high-molecular-weight, nonionic polyether built from repeating oxyethylene units, which gives strong water binding, slip, and thickening behavior. Typical use is often around 0.05% to 2%, with best dispersion by slow hydration in water, broad pH tolerance, and possible viscosity loss under high shear or oxidative stress.
Last updated 2026-05-16