Quartz has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 1.00 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. Quartz is a naturally occurring crystalline mineral, mined and milled rather than synthesised. An NOI of 1.00 means 100% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

Is Quartz natural? NOI 1.00 — Is That Natural?

How we scored it

Mineral silicon dioxide; minerals are natural origin under ISO 16128 = 1.0.

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

Mined from natural quartz deposits and milled to a cosmetic-grade powder. No synthetic route is used; occasionally fused synthetic silica is substituted but is chemically identical mineral-origin material.

In plain English

A finely milled mineral powder used as a gentle abrasive in scrubs and exfoliants. It's mined directly from natural quartz rock.

CosIng definition: Quartz is a mineral consisting chiefly of silicon dioxide

Structure

dioxosilane

PubChem CID 24261 ↗

References

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.
2Quartz. PubChem CID 24261. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
3QUARTZ. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
4QUARTZ. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=QUARTZ