Database/Hair Dyeing/Basic Red 76
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Basic Red 76 natural?

Mostly not. Synthetic azo trimethylammonium hair dye supplied as a salt. Only the chloride counter-ion counts as natural origin under the site's mineral counter-ion convention; every carbon in the coloured cation is petrochemical.

INCI nameBasic Red 76
CAS68391-30-0
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPetrochemical aromatic amines and couplers assembled into the…

How we scored it

Basic Red 76 C20H22ClN3O2 371.9 Da: chloride counter-ion Cl 35.5 Da is mineral-derived (natural); the azo trimethylammonium dye cation 336.4 Da is built entirely from petrochemical aromatic intermediates → 35.5/371.9 = 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 amines and couplers assembled into the dye cation, isolated as its salt.

In plain English

A synthetic red dye used in semi-permanent hair colour products. It's made from petrochemical starting materials in a dye factory, not derived from plants.

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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. 2BASIC RED 76. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3BASIC RED 76. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BASIC%20RED%2076