Database/Film Forming/Ammonium Polyacrylate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ammonium Polyacrylate natural?

No. A polyacrylic acid homopolymer neutralized with ammonia; both the acrylate backbone and the natural-gas-derived ammonium are non-natural.

INCI nameAmmonium Polyacrylate
CAS9003-03-6
FormulaC3H7NO2 · 89.09 Da
FunctionFilm Forming · Light Stabilizer
FeedstockManufactured by polymerizing petrochemical acrylic acid and neutralizing…

How we scored it

Polyacrylic acid backbone is petrochemical; ammonium counter-ion from natural-gas ammonia is treated as non-natural, as with urea/allantoin; 0/1=0.0.
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

Manufactured by polymerizing petrochemical acrylic acid and neutralizing it with ammonia derived from natural gas. Neither the polymer backbone nor the counter-ion traces to a renewable feedstock.

In plain English

A synthetic polymer of acrylic acid neutralized with ammonia. Forms a film on hair or skin and can act as a mild cleansing ingredient.

CosIng definition: 2-Propenoic acid, homopolymer, ammonium salt

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 Amorphophallus Konjac Root Extract 100% natural origin

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Structure

2D structure of Ammonium Polyacrylate

azanium prop-2-enoate

PubChem CID 161596 ↗

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 Polyacrylate. PubChem CID 161596. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3AMMONIUM POLYACRYLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4AMMONIUM POLYACRYLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=AMMONIUM%20POLYACRYLATE