Database/Antimicrobial/Cocotrimonium Chloride
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Cocotrimonium Chloride natural?

Mostly. The coconut-derived alkyl chain and mineral chloride are natural; the trimethylammonium head comes from petrochemical methylating agents.

INCI nameCocotrimonium Chloride
CAS61789-18-2
FunctionAntimicrobial · Antistatic
FeedstockCoconut fatty amine is quaternised with methyl chloride,…

How we scored it

Coco-alkyl C12H25 169Da (natural) + N(CH3)3 59Da (petrochemical methylamine) + Cl 35Da (natural mineral) = 205/264 = 0.78
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 amine is quaternised with methyl chloride, itself made from petrochemical methanol; the chloride counter-ion is mineral-derived. Chain length averages around C12.

In plain English

A conditioning ingredient used in hair care to reduce static and improve combing. It's made from a coconut-derived fatty chain attached to a small lab-made ammonium group, with chloride, a mineral-derived component, completing the molecule.

CosIng definition: Quaternary ammonium compounds, coco alkyltrimethyl, chlorides

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