Cetethe are the polyoxyethylene ethers of cetyl alcohol.
Polyalkylene glycol ethers, also known as fatty alcohol polyglycol ethers, are non-ionic surfactants whose lipophilic part consists of fatty alcohols (e.g. lauryl alcohol, palmitic alcohol, stearyl alcohols, etc.). The hydrophilic part forms short-chain polyethylene glycols (polyoxyethylene). In the designation of fatty alcohol polyglycol ethers, the inserted numbering indicates the average number of ethylene oxide units per mole. Ceteth-10 is the INCI designation for Ceteth-10 polyoxyethylene, a polyoxyethylene ether with 10 ethylene oxide units per mole.