How we scored it
Where it comes from
Manufactured by catalytic air oxidation of petrochemical benzene or n-butane to maleic anhydride, then hydrated. No commercially significant natural route.
In plain English
A pH-adjusting ingredient made industrially from petroleum-derived butane or benzene. It has no natural source despite being a simple small molecule.
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Structure
(Z)-but-2-enedioic acid
References
- 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.
- 2Maleic Acid. PubChem CID 444266. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3MALEIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4MALEIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=MALEIC%20ACID