Database/Buffering/Dimethyl MEA
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Dimethyl MEA natural?

No. Made from petrochemical ethylene oxide and dimethylamine, both synthetic building blocks with no natural-origin route.

INCI nameDimethyl MEA
CAS108-01-0
FormulaC4H11NO · 89.14 Da
FunctionBuffering
FeedstockProduced by reacting ethylene oxide with dimethylamine, both…

How we scored it

Entire molecule C4H11NO is dimethylaminoethanol, made from ethylene oxide and dimethylamine; both petrochemical, no natural fragment. 0/89.1=0.0.
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

Produced by reacting ethylene oxide with dimethylamine, both derived from petroleum or natural-gas feedstocks. No commercially significant natural-origin route exists.

In plain English

A small synthetic amino-alcohol made from ethylene oxide and dimethylamine, both petroleum-derived. Used in tiny amounts to adjust and buffer product pH.

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Structure

2D structure of Dimethyl MEA

2-(dimethylamino)ethanol

PubChem CID 7902 ↗

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. 2Dimethyl MEA. PubChem CID 7902. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DIMETHYL MEA. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DIMETHYL MEA. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DIMETHYL%20MEA