Database/Antistatic/Polyacrylamide
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Polyacrylamide natural?

No. Acrylamide monomer is made from petrochemical acrylonitrile; no natural feedstock or mineral fragment is present in the polymer.

INCI namePolyacrylamide
CAS9003-05-8
FunctionAntistatic · Binding
FeedstockProduced by free-radical polymerisation of acrylamide, itself made…

How we scored it

Repeat unit -CH2-CH(CONH2)- C3H5NO (71 Da) from acrylamide monomer; entirely petrochemical, non-ionic, no mineral counter-ion. 0/71 = 0.0.
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

Produced by free-radical polymerisation of acrylamide, itself made industrially by hydrolysis of petrochemical acrylonitrile. No bio-based route is used commercially.

In plain English

A synthetic film-forming and binding polymer used to thicken formulas. It is built entirely from petrochemical acrylamide, with no plant or mineral content.

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