Database/Hair Dyeing/Basic Red 2
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Basic Red 2 natural?

Mostly not. Synthetic hair-dye phenazinium dye cation supplied as its salt. Only the mineral counter-ion counts as natural, as on the site's other hair-dye salts; every carbon is petrochemical.

INCI nameBasic Red 2
CAS477-73-6
FormulaC20H19ClN4 · 350.8 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPetrochemical aromatic amine or dye base isolated as…

How we scored it

Basic Red 2 (safranine) C20H19ClN4 350.8 Da: 1×chloride 35.5 Da is mineral-derived (natural); the phenazinium dye cation 315.4 Da is petrochemical → 35.5/350.8 = 0.10.
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

Petrochemical aromatic amine or dye base isolated as its mineral-acid salt.

In plain English

A red dye used to colour hair. It is a fully synthetic molecule made from petroleum-derived chemicals, with no natural source.

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 Dihydroxyacetone 100% natural origin

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 Epicatechin 100% natural origin

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 Lawsonia Inermis Extract 100% natural origin

A plant extract from the henna shrub, used to condition hair and skin and add a reddish tint.…

 Pyrogallol 100% natural origin

A hair-dye ingredient traditionally made by heating gallic acid, itself extracted from plant tannins in gallnuts, until it…

Structure

2D structure of Basic Red 2

3,7-dimethyl-10-phenylphenazin-10-ium-2,8-diamine chloride

PubChem CID 2723800 ↗

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. 2Basic Red 2. PubChem CID 2723800. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BASIC RED 2. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BASIC RED 2. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BASIC%20RED%202