Database/Hair Dyeing/HC Yellow No. 4
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is HC Yellow No. 4 natural?

No. Synthetic nitroaniline dye intermediate built from petrochemical aniline and ethylene oxide.

INCI nameHC Yellow No. 4
CAS59820-43-8
FormulaC10H14N2O5 · 242.23 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockManufactured by nitration and ethoxylation of aniline-derived intermediates,…

How we scored it

Nitro-aminophenol ethanolamine dye; aromatic core from petrochemical aniline, hydroxyethyl groups from ethylene oxide. No natural fragment.
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 ethoxylation of aniline-derived intermediates, all from petrochemical feedstocks. No natural-origin route exists.

In plain English

A synthetic dye made from petroleum-derived chemicals, used to add yellow color in semi-permanent hair dyes without an oxidizing developer.

CosIng definition: HC Yellow No. 4 is the hair color that conforms to the formula:

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 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 Yellow No. 4

2-[2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-4-nitroanilino]ethanol

PubChem CID 62158 ↗

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 Yellow No. 4. PubChem CID 62158. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3HC YELLOW NO. 4. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4HC YELLOW NO. 4. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=HC%20YELLOW%20NO.%204