Database/Antistatic/Coco-Hydroxysultaine
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Coco-Hydroxysultaine natural?

Mostly. The coconut fatty acyl group is natural and the sulfonate group comes from mineral sulfuric acid, so both count as natural origin, the same way the sulfate is credited in ammonium lauryl sulfate. The DMAPA-derived propylamine bridge and the hydroxypropyl chain from propylene-oxide chemistry are petrochemical.

INCI nameCoco-Hydroxysultaine
FunctionAntistatic · Cleansing
FeedstockCoconut fatty acid is condensed with dimethylaminopropylamine, then…

How we scored it

Taking the lauric-dominant structure C20H42N2O5S, 422.63 Da: natural origin is the coco acyl group C12H23O (183.31 Da) plus the sulfonate group SO3 (80.06 Da) = 263.37 Da. Petrochemical is the amide NH (15.02 Da), the propyl bridge (42.08 Da), the dimethylamino nitrogen (44.08 Da) and the hydroxypropyl carbons (58.08 Da) = 159.26 Da. So 263.37/422.63 = 0.62.
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 fatty acid is condensed with dimethylaminopropylamine, then reacted with a hydroxypropane sultone to build the zwitterionic sulfonate. No formula was supplied, so a typical cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine structure was used.

In plain English

A mild, foam-boosting cleansing ingredient used in gentle shampoos and washes. It combines a fatty amide from coconut oil with a synthetic sulfonate group derived from propylene chemistry.

CosIng definition: 1-Propanaminum, N,N-dimethyl-2-hydroxy-3-sulfo-, N-coco acyl derivs., hydroxides, inner salts

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