Database/Hair Dyeing/Acid Red 18 Aluminum Lake
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Acid Red 18 Aluminum Lake natural?

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

INCI nameAcid Red 18 Aluminum Lake
CAS12227-64-4
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockAcid Red 18 (Ponceau 4R) is a coal-tar…

How we scored it

Assumed lake: 25% dye-aluminium salt on 75% alumina substrate. Dye salt 562.5 Da: 3 SO3 240.2 + Al 27.0 natural = 0.475. 0.25 x 0.475 + 0.75 x 1.0 = 0.87.
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 Red 18 (Ponceau 4R) is a coal-tar or petroleum naphthalene azo dye, precipitated with aluminium salts onto alumina hydrate made from bauxite. No natural-origin dye route is used, and the mineral share depends on the dye loading of the grade.

In plain English

A red colour pigment: a synthetic red dye fixed onto aluminium oxide so it does not dissolve, listed for hair dyeing. The dye is made from petrochemical naphthalene compounds; the aluminium base is mineral.

CosIng definition: Acid Red 18 Aluminum Lake is an insoluble pigment composed of the aluminum salt of Acid Red 18 extended on an appropriate substrate.

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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 RED 18 ALUMINUM LAKE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3ACID RED 18 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%20RED%2018%20ALUMINUM%20LAKE