Why the score varies
This ingredient is made commercially by more than one route, and ISO 16128 scores the feedstock actually used. Without a supplier certificate of origin the value cannot be claimed.
| Route | Feedstock | NOI | Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermentation / protein hydrolysate | Plant sugars or hydrolysed protein (soy, gelatin) | 1.00 | ~35% | |
| Chemical synthesis | Petrochemical chloroacetic acid + ammonia, or Strecker synthesis | 0.00 | ~65%, dominant for bulk supply |
How we scored it
Where it comes from
Bulk glycine is often made by reacting petrochemical chloroacetic acid with ammonia, or via Strecker synthesis. Some supply comes from fermentation or hydrolysed plant/animal protein.
In plain English
The simplest amino acid, used for moisturising and conditioning. It can come from fermented plant sugars or hydrolysed protein, but much of the world's supply is made by chemical synthesis instead.
Natural alternatives with the same function
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Structure
2-aminoacetic acid
References
- 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.
- 2Glycine. PubChem CID 750. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3GLYCINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4GLYCINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=GLYCINE