How we scored it
Engineered silicate clay of sodium, magnesium and silica; all components are natural-origin minerals regardless of lab synthesis. 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
Sodium magnesium silicate is a lab-engineered clay chemically equivalent to natural hectorite-type clays, built from sodium, magnesium and silica. It is classed as mineral/natural origin despite being manufactured rather than mined.
In plain English
A lab-manufactured clay mineral used to thicken products and keep other ingredients suspended. Though engineered rather than mined, it is chemically a silicate mineral, the same class as natural clays.
CosIng definition: Sodium Magnesium Silicate is a synthetic silicate clay with a composition mainly of magnesium and sodium silicate.
Structure
dimagnesium;disodium;tris(dioxido(oxo)silane)
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.
- 2Sodium Magnesium Silicate. PubChem CID 165430229. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3SODIUM MAGNESIUM SILICATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4SODIUM MAGNESIUM SILICATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20MAGNESIUM%20SILICATE