Undeceth-5 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a nonionic surfactant and solubilizer. It helps disperse oily materials into water-based formulas and can support cleansing, wetting, and emulsion stability.
What does Undeceth-5 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a nonionic surfactant and solubilizer. It helps disperse oily materials into water-based formulas and can support cleansing, wetting, and emulsion stability.
Is Undeceth-5 clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, it has friction because it is made through ethoxylation and may require controls for residual ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. It is generally used as a functional surfactant rather than an active, with irritation potential depending on concentration and formula context.
Is Undeceth-5 sustainable?
This material can be based on fatty-alcohol feedstocks, but the ethoxylated portion is typically petrochemical-derived. Alcohol ethoxylates are generally biodegradable, yet they are less aligned with renewable, minimal-processing ingredient preferences.
Is Undeceth-5 COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because ethoxylated materials fall outside the standard’s allowed chemistry. Its Green Chemistry profile is mixed, with useful biodegradability but a less favored synthesis route and residue-control burden.
How does Undeceth-5 work chemically?
The molecule combines a C11 hydrophobic fatty chain with an average of five ethylene oxide units, giving it amphiphilic behavior and moderate water dispersibility. It is typically used at low percentages as a solubilizer or co-surfactant, and performance depends strongly on oil load, electrolyte level, temperature, and the wider surfactant system.
Last updated 2026-05-13