Glycereth-2 Cocoate a chemical component, a glycerine molecule that has been ethoxylated with two ethylene oxide units and esterified with coconut oil fatty acids.

The name describes the structure of the molecule:

• Glycereth-2 is a derivative of glycerine or glycerol, a simple polyol compound. 
• 2 in Glycereth-2 indicates that there are two ethylene oxide units attached to the glycerol molecule.
• Cocoate refers to the ester formed from the fatty acids of coconut oil. Coconut oil is characterised by medium-chain fatty acids which, when forming an ester with a molecule, provide emollient and skin-conditioning properties.

What it is for and where

Cosmetics

Glycereth-2 Cocoate is a non-ionic surfactant, an ester of Polyoxyethylene Glycerol and is used by the cosmetics industry as

• emollient
• thickener
• foaming
• emulsifier

INCI functions:

Surfactant - Cleansing agent. Cosmetic products used to cleanse the skin utilise the surface-active action that produces a lowering of the surface tension of the stratum corneum, facilitating the removal of dirt and impurities. 

Surfactant - Emulsifying agent. Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable and are used to soothe or soften the skin and emulsify, so they need a specific, stabilising ingredient. This ingredient forms a film, lowers the surface tension and makes two immiscible liquids miscible. A very important factor affecting the stability of the emulsion is the amount of the emulsifying agent. Emulsifiers have the property of reducing the oil/water or water/oil interfacial tension, improving the stability of the emulsion and also directly influencing the stability, sensory properties and surface tension of sunscreens by modulating the filmometric performance.

Other uses

Glycereth-2 Cocoate is used  in detergents for dishwashers with the aforementioned purposes.

Safety

It has a low eco-toxicological profile as it is obtained from coconut oil and glycerine.