Cetearyl alcohol is a mixture of the fatty alcohols cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol which are made by catalytic hydrogenation of the triglycerides obtained from vegetable and coconut oils and followed by oxidation of a chain growth product of ethylene oligomerized on a triethylaluminum catalyst. Polysorbate 60 is obtained by esterification of sorbitol with one or three molecules of a fatty acid including stearic, lauric, oleic, and palmitic acid.