Database/Cleansing/Sodium Undecylenoamphoacetate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Sodium Undecylenoamphoacetate natural?

Mostly. Undecylenic acid, made from castor oil ricinoleic acid, is condensed with petrochemical aminoethylethanolamine and carboxymethylated with chloroacetic acid.

INCI nameSodium Undecylenoamphoacetate
FunctionCleansing · Foaming
FeedstockUndecylenic acid is produced by pyrolytic cracking of…

How we scored it

Undecylenoyl from castor-oil-derived undecylenic acid (natural, 167.3 Da) + Na (23.0) = 190.3 natural; AEEA + chloroacetate petrochemical = 160.2; total 350.5 -> 0.54.
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

Undecylenic acid is produced by pyrolytic cracking of ricinoleic acid from castor oil, then reacted with petrochemical aminoethylethanolamine and chloroacetic acid, and neutralized with sodium hydroxide. No formula was supplied; structure estimated from the amphoacetate family.

In plain English

A mild, foam-boosting cleansing ingredient made from a castor-oil-derived fatty acid combined with petrochemical building blocks and sodium; used in shampoos and washes.

Natural alternatives with the same function

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 UNDECYLENOAMPHOACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3SODIUM UNDECYLENOAMPHOACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=SODIUM%20UNDECYLENOAMPHOACETATE