Database/Cleansing/Polyquaternium-79
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Polyquaternium-79 natural?

Mostly. Natural glucoside backbone plus a natural stearyl chain in the quaternizing amine outweigh the petrochemical crosslinker and amino group.

INCI namePolyquaternium-79
FunctionCleansing · Emulsifying Surfactant
FeedstockMade by crosslinking decyl glucoside with petrochemical 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol,…

How we scored it

Decyl glucoside (natural, approx 320 Da) + dichloropropanol crosslink (petrochemical, approx 58 Da) + stearyldimethylamine quat: stearyl chain natural (approx 253 Da), dimethylamino petrochemical (approx 44 Da); Cl- treated as natural. Natural approx 609/712 = 0.86 per repeat unit (approximate).
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 decyl glucoside with petrochemical 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, then quaternizing with stearyldimethylamine, a fatty oleochemical-derived amine. Exact repeat-unit stoichiometry is approximated given the complex polymer structure.

In plain English

A polymer made by linking a plant-sugar surfactant (decyl glucoside) with a petrochemical crosslinker, then treating with a fatty, stearyl-based ammonium compound. Used to clean, emulsify, and condition hair.

CosIng definition: Polyquaternium-79 is the complex polymer formed by crosslinking Decyl Glucoside with 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol, followed by quaternization of the residual chloropropanol groups with stearyldimethylamine

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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. 2POLYQUATERNIUM-79. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POLYQUATERNIUM-79. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYQUATERNIUM-79