Database/Hair Dyeing/Acid Blue 3
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Acid Blue 3 natural?

Mostly not. Synthetic triphenylmethane dye core from petrochemical aromatics; only its calcium sulfonate salt fragments trace to mineral feedstock.

INCI nameAcid Blue 3
CAS3536-49-0
FormulaC54H62CaN4O14S4 · 1159.4 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockThe triphenylmethane dye backbone is built from petrochemical…

How we scored it

Ca(40)+4xSO3(320) mineral=360 Da natural; triphenylmethane dye backbone (799 Da) synthetic aromatic; total 1159 Da. 360/1159=0.31.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

The triphenylmethane dye backbone is built from petrochemical aniline/benzaldehyde-type aromatics via industrial dye synthesis. The calcium and sulfonate groups trace to mineral calcium and sulfuric acid.

In plain English

A synthetic blue dye used in hair colouring. Built from lab-made dye chemistry; only its calcium and sulfonate salt portions trace to mineral feedstock.

CosIng definition: Acid Blue 3 is classed chemically as a triphenylmethane colour. It conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Acid Blue 3

calcium bis(4-[[4-(diethylamino)phenyl]-(4-diethylazaniumylidenecyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene)methyl]-6-hydroxybenzene-1,3-disulfonate)

PubChem CID 77073 ↗

References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2Acid Blue 3. PubChem CID 77073. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ACID BLUE 3. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ACID BLUE 3. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ACID%20BLUE%203