PEG-400 mono laurate is not PEG-1500 mono stearate. One is listed for micro-emulsions and sun/skin chassis; the other for viscosity and spread in creams. Esteem’s co-surfactants and emulsifiers table publishes both. Specify PEG molecular weight, mono vs di, and fatty acid—not “a PEG ester.”
Why These Rows Need Their Own Map
Personal care chemists search PEG-400 mono laurate, PEG-400 di stearate, and PEG-1500 mono stearate as distinct INCIs. Until now those strings lived almost only on the co-surfactant table. The chemistry-hub PEG esters and methoxy PEG article is MPEG 350 and glyceryl PEG cocoate/stearate. This guide is the numbered PEG-200 / 400 / 1500 / 1750 / 2000 ester rows only.
PEG-20, PEG-40, and PEG-100 stearate on the same table are the electrolyte-tolerant cream emulsifiers; high-MW 1500–2000 stearates are the bodying end of that family. Pair process design with the O/W cream emulsifier guide.
Published PEG-200 and PEG-400 Grades
| INCI (as listed) | Role on the table | Start here when |
|---|---|---|
| PEG-200 Mono Laurate | Wetting & dispersing; solubilizer/stabilizer | Color cosmetics wetting in baby/skin/sun/bath/hair |
| PEG-200 Di Laurate | Wetting & dispersing; solubilizer/stabilizer | Same chassis; diester vs monoester trial |
| PEG-400 Mono Laurate | O/W emulsifier; excellent micro-emulsions | After-sun, sun care, facial, hand & body, self-tanners, shampoos |
| PEG-400 Di Laurate | O/W emulsifier; excellent micro-emulsions | Bath additives, facial cleansers, facial skin, hand & body, styling |
| PEG-400 Mono Stearate | Emulsifier, plasticizer, solubilizer, wetter, cleanser, thickener | Baby, skin, sun, bath, shower, hair—more structure than oleate |
| PEG-400 Di Stearate | Same multifunctional list as mono stearate | Diester bodying/emulsifying trial vs mono |
| PEG-400 Mono Oleate | Emulsifier, solubilizer, wetter, cleanser, thickener | Same formats; more fluid/solubilizing than stearate |
| PEG-400 Di Oleate | Same list as mono oleate | Diester oleate vs mono oleate |
PEG-1500, PEG-1750, and PEG-2000 Stearates
| INCI (as listed) | Role on the table | Start here when |
|---|---|---|
| PEG-1500 Mono Stearate | Emulsifier, viscosity builder, thickener, spreading agent | Cream/lotion body in baby, skin, sun, bath, hair |
| PEG-1750 Mono Stearate | Same as PEG-1500 mono stearate | Neighbor MW—do not assume 1:1 viscosity |
| PEG-2000 Di Stearate | Same emulsifier / thickener / spreading list | Diester high-MW body vs 1500/1750 mono |
These three also appear on the viscosity builders page. Cream body from PEG-1500 stearate is still not a shampoo salt curve—keep CMEA/betaine on wash briefs. Neighbor molecular weights (1500 vs 1750 vs 2000 di) change melt and yield stress; do not assume a 1:1 swap will match pick-up or 45 °C viscosity.
PEG-20, PEG-40, and PEG-100 Stearate
| INCI (as listed) | Role on the table | Start here when |
|---|---|---|
| PEG-20-Stearate | Viscosity builder and emulsion stabilizer; melts at body temperature | Skin, color, sun creams that should soften on skin |
| PEG-40-Stearate | Emulsifier; fine-textured emulsions with electrolytes | Cosmetic, toiletry, and topical pharma creams with salt/ACH |
| PEG-100-Stearate | Co-emulsifier with GMS or tridecyl stearate; electrolyte-stable | Classic O/W pair with glycerol mono stearate |
PEG-20-Stearate is the melt-on-skin viscosity row—useful when a stick, balm-cream, or rich lotion must break at body temperature. It is not a PEG-400 micro-emulsion grade and not a PEG-1500 spreading thickener. PEG-40-Stearate is written for fine texture in the presence of electrolytes; that is the row to trial when a simple PEG-400 stearate cream splits after salt or ACH is added. PEG-100-Stearate is explicitly a co-emulsifier with glycerol mono stearate or tridecyl stearate. Do not ask PEG-100 to replace GMS; the table says to use them together. GMS chemistry: glycerol esters.
How to Choose: Wetting vs Micro-Emulsion vs Body
PEG-200 laurates are the color-cosmetics wetting/dispersing pair. They are listed for baby, skin, sun, bath, shower, and hair care as wetting and dispersing agents in color cosmetics, plus solubilizers and stabilizers. Use them in the grind or water phase when pigments, lakes, or UV filters must wet out. They will not build a night-cream gel network. A PEG-200 mono laurate that wets TiO2 in a color grind can still fail if the emulsion is later built with a mismatched high-MW stearate—check grind viscosity and 45 °C color stability on the finished chassis, not only on a mill-base jar.
PEG-400 laurates are the micro-emulsion O/W pair. Mono laurate is written for after-sun, beach/daily sun, facial, hand & body, self-tanners, and shampoos. Di laurate is written for bath additives, facial cleansers, facial skin care, hand & body, and styling aids. That split is application language, not a licence to swap mono and di 1:1. Diesters usually sit more in the oil and change HLB, melt, and rinse feel. If the sun chassis is a fine O/W with filters, start with PEG-400 mono laurate; if the brief is a cleanser or styling micro-emulsion, start with the di laurate screen.
PEG-400 stearates add plasticizer and thickener language for structured creams in baby, skin, sun, bath, shower, and hair. PEG-400 oleates drop the plasticizer line and keep emulsifier, solubilizer, wetting, cleansing, and thickening—more fluid, more solubilizing. Same PEG-400 backbone; the fatty acid is the switch. PEG-1500/1750/2000 stearates are viscosity and spread, not micro-emulsion workhorses. Use PEG-20/40/100 as the mid-MW stearate rung between PEG-400 and PEG-1500—not as PEG-200 pigment wetters.
Mono vs Di, and Why pH Matters
Mono laurate/stearate/oleate vs di is a published pair on PEG-200 and PEG-400. The table does not give a substitution factor. Trial both when wetting or body is marginal: the diester often gives more oil compatibility and a different crystal habit; the monoester often wets water-phase pigments more readily. Record melt appearance and 24-hour microscopy instead of declaring a winner from a single overnight jar.
These molecules are esters. High pH (depilatories, soap creams, some hair relaxers) and strong lipase-type soils can raise acid value over time. The MPEG/PEG-ester chemistry article flags hydrolytic stability for alkaline cleaners; the same caution applies here. For highly alkaline chassis, confirm the ester still holds or move to an ether nonionic (Ceteth/Steareth pairs) instead of overdosing PEG-400 laurate.
MPEG 350 laurate/oleate and glyceryl PEG cocoates remain on the chemistry-hub guide. Do not write “MPEG 350” on a request when the lab needs PEG-400 mono laurate from the co-surfactant table, or the reverse.
Glycol Esters on the Same Table (Not PEG-400)
Diethylene glycol mono stearate and diethylene glycol mono laurate are listed as cosmetic emulsifiers for shampoos and skin/hair/sun/baby cleansing. Propylene glycol mono stearate is opacifier, emulsifier, bodying, and dispersing, with a high skin-penetration note. They are glycol esters, not PEG-400. Map EGMS/EGDS/PGMS chemistry on the glycol esters guide; pearl/opacity overlap: pearlizing agents.
How to Specify with Esteem
- Name the job: pigment wetting (PEG-200 laurate), micro-emulsion/sun (PEG-400 mono laurate), cleanser/styling micro-emulsion (PEG-400 di laurate), structured cream (PEG-400 stearate), fluid solubilizer (PEG-400 oleate), body-temperature melt (PEG-20 stearate), electrolyte cream (PEG-40 or PEG-100 + GMS), or cream body (PEG-1500/1750/2000 stearate).
- State leave-on vs rinse-off, oil polarity, electrolyte, and color load.
- Request the published names from the co-surfactants table—mono vs di, laurate vs stearate vs oleate, and PEG number.
- Check freeze–thaw and, for PEG-200, pigment grind/stability; do not scale a water-white laurate jar to a TiO2 sunscreen.
Related chemistry: ester chemistries, polyethylene glycol, Ceteth-2 alcohol ethoxylate pairs, glycerol esters.
Contact Esteem for samples, or custom synthesis for a non-catalogue PEG ester window.