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

Is Coco-Sultaine natural?

Mostly. The coconut fatty acyl portion is natural and the sulfonate group comes from mineral sulfuric acid, so both count as natural origin. The propylamine bridge, the dimethylamino group and the sultone-derived propyl chain are petrochemical.

INCI nameCoco-Sultaine
FunctionAntistatic · Cleansing
FeedstockCoconut fatty acid is amidated with a synthetic…

How we scored it

Taking the lauric-dominant structure, the molecule weighs 406.63 Da. Natural origin is the coco acyl group C12H23O (183.31 Da) plus the sulfonate 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 sultone-derived propyl chain (42.08 Da) = 143.26 Da. So 263.37/406.63 = 0.65.
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 amidated with a synthetic propylenediamine derivative, then reacted with a sulfonating agent to build the sultaine head group. No formula was supplied, so the mass split comes from the typical cocamidopropyl sultaine structure.

In plain English

A gentle, foam-boosting cleansing ingredient used in shampoos and body washes. It combines coconut fatty acid with a synthetic head group made from petrochemical building blocks.

CosIng definition: 1-Propanaminium, N,N-dimethyl-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-SULTAINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3COCO-SULTAINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=COCO-SULTAINE