Database/Hair Dyeing/Acid Blue 74 Aluminum Lake
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Acid Blue 74 Aluminum Lake natural?

Mostly. Alumina substrate, aluminium and sulfonate groups are mineral-derived; the indigo core (from petrochemical aniline) is petrochemical. The dye loading (typically 10-40%) is an assumption.

INCI nameAcid Blue 74 Aluminum Lake
CAS16521-38-3
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockAcid Blue 74 (indigo carmine) is made by…

How we scored it

Assumed lake: 25% dye-aluminium salt on 75% alumina substrate. Dye salt 438.4 Da: 2 SO3 160.1 + Al 18.0 natural = 0.406. 0.25 x 0.406 + 0.75 x 1.0 = 0.85.
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

Acid Blue 74 (indigo carmine) is made by sulfonating synthetic indigo, which comes from petrochemical aniline, and is laked with aluminium salts onto alumina hydrate from bauxite. Plant-extracted indigo is not used at commercial scale, and the mineral share depends on the dye loading of the grade.

In plain English

A blue colour pigment: the dye indigo carmine fixed onto aluminium oxide, listed for hair dyeing. The dye is made synthetically from petrochemical aniline; the aluminium base is mineral.

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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 74 ALUMINUM LAKE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3ACID BLUE 74 ALUMINUM LAKE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ACID%20BLUE%2074%20ALUMINUM%20LAKE