Database/Hair Dyeing/p-Aminophenol HCl
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is p-Aminophenol HCl natural?

Mostly not. Aromatic amine made from petrochemical phenol/nitrobenzene; only the mineral chloride counter-ion from the HCl salt counts as natural.

INCI namep-Aminophenol HCl
CAS51-78-5
FormulaC6H8ClNO · 145.59 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
Feedstockp-Aminophenol is synthesised from petroleum-derived phenol or nitrobenzene…

How we scored it

C6H7NO core (109.1 Da, phenol-derivative amine, petrochemical) = 0; + HCl (36.5 Da, mineral chloride salt) = natural → 36.5/145.6 = 0.25.
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

p-Aminophenol is synthesised from petroleum-derived phenol or nitrobenzene and isolated as its hydrochloride salt. No natural or fermentation route is used commercially.

In plain English

A synthetic intermediate used in permanent hair dye to help form the final colour molecule inside the hair shaft. It is made from petrochemical feedstocks, not from plants.

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Structure

2D structure of p-Aminophenol HCl

4-aminophenol;hydrochloride

PubChem CID 5828 ↗

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. 2p-Aminophenol HCl. PubChem CID 5828. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3P-AMINOPHENOL HCL. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4P-AMINOPHENOL HCL. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=P-AMINOPHENOL%20HCL