Polyethylene Glycol ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a water-soluble solvent and humectant. Higher molecular-weight grades can also act as binders, thickeners, lubricants, or film formers.
What does Polyethylene Glycol do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a water-soluble solvent and humectant. Higher molecular-weight grades can also act as binders, thickeners, lubricants, or film formers.
Is Polyethylene Glycol clean?
Clean-beauty frameworks often flag it because it is made by ethoxylation and can carry trace processing residuals such as 1,4-dioxane if purification is incomplete. It is usually low-irritation on intact skin, but its restricted-list status varies by retailer and standard.
Is Polyethylene Glycol sustainable?
This material is usually fossil-derived, although bio-based feedstock routes exist. It is water soluble and generally more biodegradable at lower molecular weights, while larger grades break down more slowly and add synthetic-polymer load to wastewater.
Is Polyethylene Glycol COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic because ethoxylated materials are excluded. From a Green Chemistry lens, its strengths are low reactivity and broad formulation utility, but fossil sourcing, ethoxylation, and residual-solvent controls are clear drawbacks.
How does Polyethylene Glycol work chemically?
The molecule is a linear, water-soluble chain of repeating ether units with terminal hydroxyl groups, with grade behavior driven mainly by average molecular weight. Liquid grades are commonly used around 1 to 10% as solvents or humectants, while solid grades may be used at similar or higher levels for binding, viscosity, and texture; it is broadly stable across typical cosmetic pH ranges.
Last updated 2026-08-17