Database/Hair Dyeing/Pigment Blue 15:1
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Pigment Blue 15:1 natural?

Mostly not. The phthalocyanine macrocycle is built from petrochemical phthalic anhydride (o-xylene or naphthalene) and urea; only the copper metal ion counts as natural.

INCI namePigment Blue 15:1
CAS147-14-8
FormulaC32H16CuN8 · 576.1 Da
FunctionHair Dyeing
FeedstockPhthalic anhydride or phthalonitrile and urea are heated…

How we scored it

C32H16CuN8 576.1 Da: copper 63.5 (metal ion, natural) + phthalocyanine ligand C32H16N8 512.5 (petrochemical); 63.5 / 576.1 = 0.11. Any ring chlorine not included.
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

Phthalic anhydride or phthalonitrile and urea are heated with a copper salt to form the phthalocyanine ring. Pigment Blue 15:1 can carry about one ring chlorine, which the supplied formula omits.

In plain English

A bright blue copper phthalocyanine pigment, listed here for hair colouring. It is made by chemical synthesis from petrochemical aromatic raw materials and a copper salt.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Structure

2D structure of Pigment Blue 15:1

copper 2,11,20,29,37,39-hexaza-38,40-diazanidanonacyclo[28.6.1.13,10.112,19.121,28.04,9.013,18.022,27.031,36]tetraconta-1,3,5,7,9,11,13,15,17,19(39),20,22,24,26,28,30(37),31,33,35-nonadecaene

PubChem CID 6531516 ↗

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. 2Pigment Blue 15:1. PubChem CID 6531516. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3PIGMENT BLUE 15:1. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4PIGMENT BLUE 15:1. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=PIGMENT%20BLUE%2015%3A1