Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Blue No. 16
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Blue No. 16 natural?

Mostly not. Synthetic hair-dye anthraquinone quaternary ammonium cation supplied as its salt. Only the mineral counter-ion counts as natural, as on the site's other hair-dye salts; every carbon is petrochemical.

INCI nameHC Blue No. 16
CAS502453-61-4
FormulaC23H30BrN3O2 · 460.4 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPetrochemical aromatic amine or dye base isolated as…

How we scored it

HC Blue No. 16 C23H30BrN3O2 460.4 Da: 1×bromide 79.9 Da is mineral-derived (natural); the anthraquinone quaternary ammonium cation 380.5 Da is petrochemical → 79.9/460.4 = 0.17.
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 amine or dye base isolated as its mineral-acid salt.

In plain English

A synthetic blue dye used in semi-permanent hair colours. It is fully lab-made from petroleum-derived chemicals, with no natural content.

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Structure

2D structure of HC Blue No. 16

dimethyl-[3-[[4-(methylamino)-9,10-dioxoanthracen-1-yl]amino]propyl]-propylazanium bromide

PubChem CID 12011964 ↗

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. 16. PubChem CID 12011964. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC BLUE NO. 16. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC BLUE NO. 16. 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.%2016