How we scored it
Pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (from fermentation-derived glutamic acid, cyclised losing water) + Ca counter-ion (natural mineral) = 1.0
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 cyclising L-glutamic acid, an amino acid produced by fermentation of plant sugars, then neutralising with calcium hydroxide. No petrochemical fragment remains in the product.
In plain English
A humectant that mimics part of skin's own natural moisturising factor. It's made from a fermented amino acid (glutamic acid) combined with a natural calcium mineral salt.
Structure
calcium bis((2S)-5-oxopyrrolidine-2-carboxylate)
References
- 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.
- 2Calcium PCA. PubChem CID 14559044. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3CALCIUM PCA. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4CALCIUM PCA. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=CALCIUM%20PCA