Database/Hair Dyeing/Disperse Red 17
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Disperse Red 17 natural?

No. Disperse dyes are non-ionic by design, so no mineral-qualifying fragment exists; backbone is petrochemical aromatic azo chemistry.

INCI nameDisperse Red 17
CAS3179-89-3
FormulaC17H20N4O4 · 344.4 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockSynthesised from petrochemical aniline and nitrobenzene derivatives via…

How we scored it

Non-ionic azo disperse dye; aminoazobenzene-type structure, entirely petrochemical (benzene/azo/ethylene-oxide fragments) = 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

Synthesised from petrochemical aniline and nitrobenzene derivatives via azo coupling. No natural production route for this dye class.

In plain English

A red synthetic dye used in hair-colouring products, made from petroleum-derived aromatic chemicals through industrial azo-dye synthesis.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Beta Vulgaris Root Powder 100% natural origin

A powder made by drying and grinding sugar beet root. Used as a natural colorant for hair dye…

 Bismuth Citrate 100% natural origin

A salt formed from bismuth metal and citric acid, a natural fermentation-derived fruit acid, used to buffer, chelate…

 Dihydroxyacetone 100% natural origin

The active self-tanning ingredient that reacts with skin's surface proteins to produce a temporary bronze colour; made by…

 Epicatechin 100% natural origin

An antioxidant compound naturally found in tea and cocoa, used in skin, hair and oral care. It's extracted…

 Lawsonia Inermis Extract 100% natural origin

A plant extract from the henna shrub, used to condition hair and skin and add a reddish tint.…

 Pyrogallol 100% natural origin

A hair-dye ingredient traditionally made by heating gallic acid, itself extracted from plant tannins in gallnuts, until it…

Structure

2D structure of Disperse Red 17

2-[N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methyl-4-[(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]anilino]ethanol

PubChem CID 4585870 ↗

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. 2Disperse Red 17. PubChem CID 4585870. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3DISPERSE RED 17. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4DISPERSE RED 17. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=DISPERSE%20RED%2017