Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Blue No. 15
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Blue No. 15 natural?

Mostly not. Synthetic diaminodiphenylmethane-type (the two ring chlorines are covalent and not credited) hair dye supplied as a salt. Only the phosphoric acid counter-ion counts as natural origin under the site's mineral counter-ion convention; every carbon in the coloured cation is petrochemical.

INCI nameHC Blue No. 15
CAS74578-10-2
FormulaC23H25Cl2N2O4P · 495.3 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPetrochemical aromatic amines and couplers assembled into the…

How we scored it

HC Blue No. 15 phosphate C23H25Cl2N2O4P 495.3 Da: phosphoric acid counter-ion H3PO4 98.0 Da is mineral-derived (natural); the diaminodiphenylmethane-type (the two ring chlorines are covalent and not credited) dye cation 397.3 Da is built entirely from petrochemical aromatic intermediates → 98.0/495.3 = 0.20.
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

Petrochemical aromatic amines and couplers assembled into the dye cation, isolated as its salt.

In plain English

A synthetic dye used in semi-permanent hair colouring for a blue shade. A lab-made dichlorophenyl dye salt, not derived from plants.

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Structure

2D structure of HC Blue No. 15

4-[(2,6-dichlorophenyl)-(4-imino-3,5-dimethylcyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene)methyl]-2,6-dimethylaniline;phosphoric acid

PubChem CID 173294 ↗

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. 2HC Blue No. 15. PubChem CID 173294. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC BLUE NO. 15. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC BLUE NO. 15. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HC%20BLUE%20NO.%2015