Database/Hair Dyeing/Acid Yellow 23 Aluminum Lake
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Acid Yellow 23 Aluminum Lake natural?

Mostly. Mostly mineral alumina carrying a synthetic dye; the alumina substrate makes up most of the mass.

INCI nameAcid Yellow 23 Aluminum Lake
CAS12225-21-7
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockTartrazine is synthesised from petrochemical sulfanilic acid, phenylhydrazine-4-sulfonic…

How we scored it

Lake: the dye is laid on an alumina (aluminium hydroxide) substrate. Dye content varies by grade (often 10-40%); taken as 25% dye on 75% alumina, the same assumption as the other lakes. Alumina is mineral. Dye part, tartrazine aluminium salt: aluminium and two sulfonates 187 of 492 Da, natural fraction 0.38. 0.75 + 0.25 x 0.38 = 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

Tartrazine is synthesised from petrochemical sulfanilic acid, phenylhydrazine-4-sulfonic acid and an oxaloacetate ester, then precipitated on alumina hydrate with an aluminium salt. No natural-origin route exists, and the mineral alumina substrate is excluded because its proportion is not specified.

In plain English

A yellow colourant of the lake type: a water-soluble synthetic dye fixed onto aluminium hydroxide so it stays insoluble. It is listed for hair dyeing. The dye itself is made from petrochemical aromatic chemicals.

CosIng definition: Acid Yellow 23 Aluminum Lake is an insoluble pigment composed of the aluminum salt of Acid Yellow 23 extended on an appropriate substrate. It conforms to the formula:

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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 YELLOW 23 ALUMINUM LAKE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3ACID YELLOW 23 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%20YELLOW%2023%20ALUMINUM%20LAKE