Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Brown No. 1
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Brown No. 1 natural?

Mostly not. A synthetic direct hair dye; only its chloride counter-ion is of mineral origin.

INCI nameHC Brown No. 1
CAS83803-98-9
FormulaC31H30ClN9 · 564.1 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPetrochemical aromatic amines and azo intermediates, isolated as…

How we scored it

HC Brown No. 1 C31H30ClN9 548.1 Da is a synthetic dye cation with a chloride counter-ion. The organic cation is petrochemical (aromatic amine / azo chemistry); the chloride 35.45 Da counts as natural mineral origin by this site's convention. 35.45/548.1 = 0.06.
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 azo intermediates, isolated as the hydrochloride / chloride salt.

In plain English

A synthetic brown dye used for direct hair coloring. It's built through multi-step synthesis from petroleum-derived aromatic amines; a small salt component's natural status is uncertain, so this one needs a closer look.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of HC Brown No. 1

[3-[[4-[(3,4-diamino-2-phenyldiazenylphenyl)diazenyl]naphthalen-1-yl]diazenyl]phenyl]-trimethylazanium chloride

PubChem CID 5743768 ↗

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 Brown No. 1. PubChem CID 5743768. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC BROWN NO. 1. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC BROWN NO. 1. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HC%20BROWN%20NO.%201