Database/Cleansing/Cocamidopropylamine Oxide
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Cocamidopropylamine Oxide natural?

Mostly. The coco fatty acyl group is natural, but the dimethylaminopropyl amine backbone (DMAPA) is a petrochemical synthetic building block.

INCI nameCocamidopropylamine Oxide
CAS68155-09-9
FunctionCleansing · Foam Boosting Surfactant
FeedstockCoconut-derived fatty acid is amide-linked to dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA),…

How we scored it

Coco lauroyl (183, natural) amide with DMAPA (petrochemical), N-oxidised (+16 O); 183/300 = 0.61.
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

Coconut-derived fatty acid is amide-linked to dimethylaminopropylamine (DMAPA), a petrochemical amine, then oxidised to the amine oxide. Coconut fatty acid supplies the larger share of the molecule's mass.

In plain English

A foam-boosting and thickening ingredient in shampoos and body washes. Made by combining coconut-derived fatty acid with a synthetic petrochemical amine building block, then adding oxygen to form an amine oxide. Partly plant-derived, partly petroleum-derived.

CosIng definition: Amides, coco, N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl], N-oxides

Natural alternatives with the same function

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