Database/Antimicrobial/Betaine Salicylate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Betaine Salicylate natural?

Mostly not. Betaine from sugar beet is natural; salicylic acid is treated as petrochemical (phenol-derived) by this site's convention.

INCI nameBetaine Salicylate
CAS17671-53-3
FormulaC12H17NO5 · 255.27 Da
FunctionAntimicrobial · Keratolytic
FeedstockFormed by combining betaine, recovered from sugar beet…

How we scored it

Betaine C5H11NO2 117.2 Da (natural) + salicylic acid C7H6O3 138.1 Da (petrochemical) = 255.3 Da; 117.2/255.3 = 0.46.
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

Formed by combining betaine, recovered from sugar beet molasses processing, with salicylic acid, industrially synthesised from phenol. A willow-bark salicylic-acid source exists but is not dominant in cosmetic supply.

In plain English

A skin-conditioning ingredient combining betaine, a sugar-beet-derived compound, with salicylic acid. Used in cleansers and toners to help condition skin and manage oiliness.

CosIng definition: Betaine Salycilate is the product formed by the reaction of Betaine with Salycilic Acid

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Structure

2D structure of Betaine Salicylate

carboxymethyl(trimethyl)azanium;2-carboxyphenolate

PubChem CID 71587021 ↗

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. 2Betaine Salicylate. PubChem CID 71587021. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3BETAINE SALICYLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4BETAINE SALICYLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=BETAINE%20SALICYLATE