Database/Emulsion Stabilising/Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Crosspolymer natural?

Mostly not. The sulfonate group on the taurate monomer comes from mineral sulfuric acid and counts as natural origin, the same way it is credited in the ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate / VP copolymer. The acrylamide backbone, the ammonium counter-ion from synthetic ammonia and the 25-unit ethylene oxide chain are all petrochemical, and the behenyl tail is oleochemical.

INCI nameAmmonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Beheneth-25 Methacrylate Crosspolymer
FunctionEmulsion Stabilising
FeedstockA taurate acrylate monomer is crosslinked with a…

How we scored it

The ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate monomer is 224.28 Da and carries a sulfonate group SO3 of 80.06 Da, so it is 0.36 natural origin. The beheneth-25 methacrylate macromonomer is 1496.02 Da and carries a behenyl-oxy fragment of 325.61 Da, so it is 0.22 natural origin. At an assumed 90:10 molar ratio, natural is 90 x 80.06 + 10 x 325.61 = 10461 Da of a 90 x 224.28 + 10 x 1496.02 = 35145 Da total, giving 0.30. Any ratio between the two extremes falls between 0.22 and 0.36.
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

A taurate acrylate monomer is crosslinked with a behenyl-alcohol-derived, ethoxylated methacrylate monomer. The sulfonate comes from mineral sulfuric acid and the behenyl tail from vegetable fatty alcohol; the acrylamide backbone, the ammonium ion and the ethylene oxide chain are petrochemical. The monomer ratio is not published, but the result is bounded between 0.22 and 0.36 whatever it is.

In plain English

A synthetic thickening polymer that stabilises emulsions, built mainly from petrochemical acrylate chemistry with a small fatty-alcohol-derived component. Mostly a manufactured ingredient, not plant-based.

CosIng definition: 1-Propapnesulfonic acid, 2-methyl-2-[(1-oxo-2-propenyl)amino]-, monoammonium salt, polymers with docosylpoly(oxyethylene) 2-methyl-2-propenoate (25 mol EO average)

Natural alternatives with the same function

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. 2AMMONIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/BEHENETH-25 METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3AMMONIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/BEHENETH-25 METHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=AMMONIUM%20ACRYLOYLDIMETHYLTAURATE/BEHENETH-25%20METHACRYLATE%20CROSSPOLYMER