Database/Cleansing/Polyquaternium-77
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Polyquaternium-77 natural?

Mostly. Natural coconut-glucoside backbone dominates; the dichloropropanol crosslinker and trimethylamine quaternizing group are both petrochemical.

INCI namePolyquaternium-77
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by crosslinking coco-glucoside (coconut fatty alcohol plus…

How we scored it

Coco-glucoside (natural, approx 348 Da) + dichloropropanol crosslink (petrochemical, approx 58 Da) + trimethylamine quat (petrochemical, approx 59 Da); Cl- counter-ion treated as natural (approx 35 Da). Natural approx 384/501 = 0.77 per repeat unit (approximate, degree of crosslinking uncertain).
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

Made by crosslinking coco-glucoside (coconut fatty alcohol plus glucose) with petrochemical 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, then quaternizing residual groups with trimethylamine. Exact repeat-unit stoichiometry is approximated given the complex polymer structure.

In plain English

A polymer made by linking a coconut-derived sugar surfactant (coco-glucoside) with a petrochemical crosslinker, then treating with a small synthetic ammonium compound. Used to clean, emulsify, and condition hair.

CosIng definition: Polyquaternium-77 is the complex polymer formed by crosslinking Coco-glucoside with 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, followed by quaternization of the residual chloro-propanol groups with trimethylamine

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-77. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POLYQUATERNIUM-77. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYQUATERNIUM-77