Database/Emollient/Lauroyl/Myristoyl Methyl Glucamide
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Lauroyl/Myristoyl Methyl Glucamide natural?

Mostly. The fatty acyl groups come from coconut or palm-kernel oil and the six-carbon polyol chain from glucose, but the amide nitrogen and its methyl group come from petrochemical methylamine.

INCI nameLauroyl/Myristoyl Methyl Glucamide
CAS287735-50-6
FunctionEmollient · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockDominant route: glucose is reductively aminated with methylamine…

How we scored it

Lauroyl amide C19H39NO6 377.5: natural lauroyl 183.3 + glucitol chain C6H13O5 165.2 = 348.5; petrochemical N-CH3 29.0 (methylamine) gives 0.923. Myristoyl 0.928. Assumed 70:30 blend: 0.92.
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

Dominant route: glucose is reductively aminated with methylamine to methylglucamine, then acylated with coconut-derived lauroyl and myristoyl chloride (the chloride leaves). Methylamine is made from methanol and ammonia, with no significant bio-based alternative.

In plain English

A sugar-based cleansing surfactant and thickener used in washes and shampoos. It joins coconut or palm-kernel fatty acids (lauric and myristic) to methylglucamine, which is made from glucose and a synthetic methylamine.

CosIng definition: Lauroyl/Myristoyl Methyl Glucamide is the product obtained by the reaction of Methylglucamine with a mixture of lauroyl and myristoyl chloride.

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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. 2LAUROYL/MYRISTOYL METHYL GLUCAMIDE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3LAUROYL/MYRISTOYL METHYL GLUCAMIDE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=LAUROYL/MYRISTOYL%20METHYL%20GLUCAMIDE