Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Brown No. 2
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Brown No. 2 natural?

No. HC dyes are a synthetic hair-colourant class with no natural fragments; exact structure not confirmed here.

INCI nameHC Brown No. 2
CAS83803-99-0
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockSynthesised from petrochemical aromatic amine/nitro intermediates, as with…

How we scored it

No formula supplied; HC-series dyes are, as a class, fully synthetic → 0.0 by class knowledge.
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 aromatic amine/nitro intermediates, as with all HC-series dyes. No natural route known.

In plain English

A synthetic dye used in semi-permanent hair colouring to add a brown tone. Manufactured from petrochemical raw materials, as with other HC dyes.

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 HC Brown No. 2

PubChem CID 5743770 ↗

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. 2. PubChem CID 5743770. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC BROWN NO. 2. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC BROWN NO. 2. 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.%202