Database/Hair Conditioning/Sodium Pantothenate
Mostly petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Pantothenate natural?

Mostly not. Commercial pantothenate is made chemically, so only the sodium counter-ion counts as natural. Same ruling as Calcium Pantothenate and Pantothenic Acid.

INCI nameSodium Pantothenate
CAS867-81-2
FormulaC9H16NNaO5 · 241.22 Da
FunctionHair Conditioning
FeedstockSynthetic pantolactone condensed with synthetic sodium beta-alaninate.

How we scored it

C9H16NNaO5 241.2 Da: Na 23.0 Da mineral (natural); the pantothenate anion 218.2 Da is built from pantolactone (isobutyraldehyde + formaldehyde + cyanide) and synthetic beta-alanine, both petrochemical → 0.10. Same method as Calcium Pantothenate.
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

Synthetic pantolactone condensed with synthetic sodium beta-alaninate.

In plain English

The sodium salt of vitamin B5, used to condition hair and skin. It is built by joining a lab-made building block to an amino-acid-derived one, then neutralising with sodium.

Natural alternatives with the same function

Acacia Concinna Fruit Powder 100% natural origin

Shikakai fruit powder, made by drying and grinding the seed pods of the Acacia concinna plant. Traditionally used…

 Acronychia Acidula Fruit Extract 100% natural origin

An extract of lemon aspen, an Australian native fruit, used to condition skin and hair and help hold…

 Actinidia Chinensis Fruit 100% natural origin

Material from the kiwi fruit used to condition skin and hair, supplying fruit sugars, acids and vitamins. It…

 Adansonia Digitata Seed Oil 100% natural origin

An oil pressed from baobab tree seeds, used to nourish and condition skin and hair. It is harvested…

 Adansonia Grandidieri Seed Oil 100% natural origin

A nourishing oil pressed from the seeds of the Madagascar baobab tree. It's used to condition skin and…

 Agastache Rugosa Extract 100% natural origin

An extract of the whole Korean mint plant (Agastache rugosa), made by soaking the plant in a solvent…

Structure

2D structure of Sodium Pantothenate

sodium 3-[[(2R)-2,4-dihydroxy-3,3-dimethylbutanoyl]amino]propanoate

PubChem CID 23679004 ↗

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 Pantothenate. PubChem CID 23679004. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3SODIUM PANTOTHENATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4SODIUM PANTOTHENATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20PANTOTHENATE