Database/Depilatory/Ammonium Thioglycolate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Ammonium Thioglycolate natural?

No. Both the ammonium ion and the thioglycolate backbone trace to natural-gas ammonia and petrochemical chloroacetic acid; no natural feedstock in the molecule.

INCI nameAmmonium Thioglycolate
CAS5421-46-5
FormulaC2H7NO2S · 109.15 Da
FunctionDepilatory · Hair Waving Or Straightening
FeedstockMade industrially by reacting sodium chloroacetate (from petrochemical…

How we scored it

NH4+ 18Da (natural-gas ammonia, petrochemical convention) + thioglycolate C2H3O2S 91Da (from chloroacetic acid + NaSH, no natural route) = 0/109 = 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

Made industrially by reacting sodium chloroacetate (from petrochemical chloroacetic acid) with sodium hydrosulfide, then neutralising with ammonia. No commercial natural-origin route exists for this depilatory/perming reducing agent.

In plain English

A reducing agent used in hair-straightening, waving and hair-removal products to break the bonds that hold hair's shape. It's made in a chemical plant from petrochemical starting materials rather than from plants or minerals.

CosIng definition: Ammonium Thioglycolate is the ammonium salt of Thioglycolic Acid that conforms to the formula:

Natural alternatives with the same function

Barium Sulfide 100% natural origin

An inorganic mineral salt made by reducing barite ore with carbon. Used as a chemical depilatory that breaks…

 Calcium Sulfide 100% natural origin

An inorganic mineral salt used in depilatory products to break down hair at the skin surface. Derived from…

 Potassium Sulfide 100% natural origin

An inorganic mineral salt used as a depilatory. Made from mined potassium and sulfur sources, classed as mineral…

 Sodium Sulfide 100% natural origin

An inorganic mineral salt used as a depilatory to chemically loosen hair. Manufactured from mined sulfur and sodium…

 Strontium Sulfide 100% natural origin

An inorganic mineral compound used in depilatory (hair-removal) creams to help break down hair. It is produced from…

 Zinc Sulfide 100% natural origin

A mineral powder used in some hair-removal depilatory products. It is an inorganic zinc compound, similar in origin…

Structure

2D structure of Ammonium Thioglycolate

azanium 2-sulfanylacetate

PubChem CID 21534 ↗

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 Thioglycolate. PubChem CID 21534. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3AMMONIUM THIOGLYCOLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4AMMONIUM THIOGLYCOLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=AMMONIUM%20THIOGLYCOLATE