Database/Cleansing/Disodium Coco-Sulfosuccinate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Disodium Coco-Sulfosuccinate natural?

Mostly. Coconut alcohol, the sulfonate SO3 and sodium are natural or mineral; the four-carbon succinate backbone comes from petrochemical maleic anhydride.

INCI nameDisodium Coco-Sulfosuccinate
CAS90268-37-4
FunctionCleansing · Emollient
FeedstockCoconut or palm kernel alcohol is half-esterified with…

How we scored it

Lauryl as coco: C12H25O 185.3 + SO3 80.1 + 2 Na 46.0 = 311.4 natural; C4H3O3 succinate backbone 99.1 petrochemical; 311.4 / 410.4 = 0.76.
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 or palm kernel alcohol is half-esterified with maleic anhydride (made from butane) and the double bond is sulfonated with sodium sulfite. Bio-based maleic or succinic acid is not yet a significant supply.

In plain English

A foaming cleansing agent (surfactant) used in washes and shampoos. It joins coconut alcohol to a sulfosuccinate unit made from a petrochemical-derived acid, with sodium as the counter-ion.

CosIng definition: Disodium Coco-Sulfosuccinate is the disodium salt of a half ester of Coconut Alcohol and sulfosuccinic acid

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