Database/Antistatic/Polyquaternium-24
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Polyquaternium-24 natural?

Mostly. Cellulose backbone is a natural plant polysaccharide; the hydroxyethyl and dodecyl-quaternary substituents mix petrochemical ethylene oxide with a natural lauryl (coconut/palm) chain.

INCI namePolyquaternium-24
CAS98616-25-2
FunctionAntistatic · Film Forming
FeedstockPolyquaternium-24 starts from cellulose (wood pulp or cotton),…

How we scored it

Cellulose backbone 162 (natural) + hydroxyethyl MS~2.0 (petrochemical, +88) + low-DS dodecyldimethylammonio-hydroxypropyl group (~DS 0.1; natural C12 chain +17, petrochemical quat-glycidyl linker +14); typical substitution assumed, no MW given => 179/281 = 0.64
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

Polyquaternium-24 starts from cellulose (wood pulp or cotton), which is reacted with ethylene oxide and a dodecyl (lauryl) quaternary ammonium glycidyl reagent. The cellulose and lauryl portions are natural; the ethoxylation and quaternising linker are petrochemical.

In plain English

A conditioning polymer built from plant-derived cellulose that has been chemically modified with a lauryl (coconut/palm-derived) quaternary ammonium group and ethylene oxide, used to reduce static and condition hair.

CosIng definition: Cellulose ether with .alpha.-(3-(dodecyldimethylammonio)-2-hydroxypropyl)-.omega.-hydroxypoly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl) chloride

Natural alternatives with the same function

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. 2POLYQUATERNIUM-24. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POLYQUATERNIUM-24. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYQUATERNIUM-24