Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Red No. 3
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Red No. 3 natural?

No. Built entirely from synthetic aniline and nitro chemistry; no natural building blocks are used in its manufacture.

INCI nameHC Red No. 3
CAS2871-01-4
FormulaC8H11N3O3 · 197.19 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockManufactured by nitration and amination of petrochemical aniline/benzene…

How we scored it

Entire molecule is a synthetic nitro-aniline dye; no fragment traces to natural feedstock. 0/197 = 0.0.
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

Manufactured by nitration and amination of petrochemical aniline/benzene derivatives. No natural-origin production route exists for this hair-dye intermediate.

In plain English

A small-molecule dye used to colour hair, giving red shades in semi-permanent dyes. It is manufactured entirely from petroleum-derived aniline chemistry.

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 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 Red No. 3

2-(4-amino-2-nitroanilino)ethanol

PubChem CID 3465817 ↗

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 Red No. 3. PubChem CID 3465817. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC RED NO. 3. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC RED NO. 3. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HC%20RED%20NO.%203