Database/Film Forming/Polyquaternium-91
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Polyquaternium-91 natural?

No. Hydroxypropyl, PEG and methacrylate groups are all explicitly petrochemical fragments with no natural building block present.

INCI namePolyquaternium-91
CAS1020103-28-9
FunctionFilm Forming · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockCopolymerized from petrochemical hydroxypropyl methacrylate and PEG methacrylate,…

How we scored it

Hydroxypropyl methacrylate + PEG methacrylate + ethyltrimonium chloride methacrylate; all monomers petrochemical (hydroxypropyl/PEG/methacrylate) → 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

Copolymerized from petrochemical hydroxypropyl methacrylate and PEG methacrylate, quaternized with an ethyltrimonium chloride methacrylate monomer. No natural-feedstock route exists.

In plain English

A film-forming conditioning polymer used in hair products, built from synthetic hydroxypropyl and PEG methacrylate monomers combined with a synthetic quaternary ammonium monomer.

CosIng definition: Polyquaternium-91 is a polymeric quaternary ammonium salt of hydroxypropyl methacrylate and polyethylene glycol methacrylate quaternized with ethyltrimonium chloride methacrylate

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-91. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POLYQUATERNIUM-91. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYQUATERNIUM-91