Database/Hair Waving Or Straightening/Isooctyl Thioglycolate
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Isooctyl Thioglycolate natural?

No. Both the thioglycolic-acid and isooctyl-alcohol fragments are synthesised from petrochemical feedstocks; neither traces to a natural building block.

INCI nameIsooctyl Thioglycolate
CAS25103-09-7
FormulaC10H20O2S · 204.33 Da
FunctionHair Waving Or Straightening
FeedstockIsooctyl thioglycolate is the ester of thioglycolic acid,…

How we scored it

Thioglycolic acid (from chloroacetic acid, n=0) esterified with isooctanol (synthetic branched alcohol, n=0). 0/204.33=0.00.
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

Isooctyl thioglycolate is the ester of thioglycolic acid, made from petrochemical chloroacetic acid, and isooctanol, a synthetic branched alcohol. Both starting materials are conventional petrochemical commodities.

In plain English

A reducing agent used in perming and hair-straightening products. It is the isooctyl ester of thioglycolic acid, made from petrochemical chloroacetic acid and a synthetic branched alcohol.

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Structure

2D structure of Isooctyl Thioglycolate

6-methylheptyl 2-sulfanylacetate

PubChem CID 34306 ↗

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. 2Isooctyl Thioglycolate. PubChem CID 34306. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3ISOOCTYL THIOGLYCOLATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4ISOOCTYL THIOGLYCOLATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=ISOOCTYL%20THIOGLYCOLATE