Database/Cleansing/Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate natural?

Mostly. Coconut fatty acid and sodium are natural; sarcosine is industrially made from petrochemical chloroacetic acid and methylamine, not from protein hydrolysis.

INCI nameSodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
CAS61791-59-1
FormulaC3H6NNaO2 · 111.08 Da
FunctionCleansing · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockCoconut fatty acid is condensed with sodium sarcosinate,…

How we scored it

Lauroyl (cocoyl proxy) 183 Da + Na 23 Da = 206 Da natural; sarcosine backbone N(CH3)CH2COO 87 Da (chloroacetic acid + methylamine, petrochemical); 206/293=0.70.
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

Coconut fatty acid is condensed with sodium sarcosinate, itself typically manufactured by reacting methylamine with chloroacetic acid, both petrochemical. Used as a mild anionic cleansing surfactant.

In plain English

A mild, coconut-based cleansing surfactant. The coconut fatty acid portion is plant-derived, but the sarcosine building block is normally made synthetically, so the ingredient is only partly renewable.

CosIng definition: Glycine, N-methyl-, N-coco acyl derivs., sodium salts

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Structure

2D structure of Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate

sodium 2-(methylamino)acetate

PubChem CID 23667259 ↗

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. 2Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate. PubChem CID 23667259. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SODIUM COCOYL SARCOSINATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SODIUM COCOYL SARCOSINATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20COCOYL%20SARCOSINATE