I'm not an expert, but here is another thread where I gave it my best shot trying to answer this same question. Others contributed answers as well.
http://thebeautybrains.com/bbforum/discussion/comment/11144#Comment_11144
Here is a relevant blog post from another site where you can read about diethanolamine, chemically related to triethanolamine:
http://personalcaretruth.com/2010/09/the-12-most-maligned-cosmetic-ingredients/
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