Database/Cleansing/Sodium Methyl Stearoyl Taurate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Methyl Stearoyl Taurate natural?

Mostly. The stearic-acid amide is oleochemical; only the ethylene-oxide-derived methyltaurine linker is petrochemical.

INCI nameSodium Methyl Stearoyl Taurate
CAS149-39-3
FormulaC21H42NNaO4S · 427.6 Da
FunctionCleansing · Foaming
FeedstockThis surfactant's fatty portion is stearic acid from…

How we scored it

Stearoyl C18H35O 267Da (oleochemical) + SO3Na 103Da (mineral) = 371 natural; N-methyl-ethyl linker 57Da (petrochemical); 371/427.6=0.87.
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

This surfactant's fatty portion is stearic acid from vegetable oil, condensed with N-methyltaurine whose sulfonate backbone is manufactured from ethylene oxide. The sodium sulfonate group counts as mineral-origin.

In plain English

A mild cleansing and foaming agent used in facial and body washes. Most of its mass is plant-derived stearic acid, with a small connecting piece from petrochemical feedstock.

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Structure

2D structure of Sodium Methyl Stearoyl Taurate

sodium 2-[methyl(octadecanoyl)amino]ethanesulfonate

PubChem CID 23667652 ↗

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 Methyl Stearoyl Taurate. PubChem CID 23667652. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SODIUM METHYL STEAROYL TAURATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SODIUM METHYL STEAROYL TAURATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20METHYL%20STEAROYL%20TAURATE