Database/Humectant/Lactose
100% natural origin · ISO 16128

Is Lactose natural?

Yes. Disaccharide sugar isolated from milk/whey; entirely natural carbohydrate feedstock.

INCI nameLactose
CAS63-42-3
FormulaC12H22O11 · 342.30 Da
FunctionHumectant · Skin Conditioning
FeedstockIsolated from cow's milk or whey, a dairy-processing…

How we scored it

C12H22O11 milk sugar (disaccharide); natural sugar.3/342.3 = 1.0.
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

Isolated from cow's milk or whey, a dairy-processing byproduct, by crystallisation. No commercially significant synthetic route exists.

In plain English

A natural sugar found in milk, used in cosmetics to attract moisture and condition skin. It is extracted and crystallised from dairy whey.

Structure

2D structure of Lactose

(2R,3R,4S,5R,6S)-2-(hydroxymethyl)-6-[(2R,3S,4R,5R,6R)-4,5,6-trihydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-3-yl]oxyoxane-3,4,5-triol

PubChem CID 6134 ↗

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. 2Lactose. PubChem CID 6134. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3LACTOSE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4LACTOSE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LACTOSE