Database/Emollient/Starch Acetate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Starch Acetate natural?

Mostly. Starch is natural; the small number of acetyl groups added to it come from petrochemical acetic anhydride.

INCI nameStarch Acetate
FunctionEmollient · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockStarch esterified with a little acetic anhydride.

How we scored it

Representative cosmetic and food grade: degree of substitution about 0.1 (food grades are limited to 2.5% acetyl). Per anhydroglucose unit 162.1 Da (natural) + 0.1 acetyl 4.2 Da (acetic anhydride, petrochemical) = 166.3 Da → 0.97. A fully acetylated grade (DS 1) would be about 0.79.
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.

How it’s made

Acetylation of a starch OH by acetic anhydride: addition, collapse, proton transfer. Each curved arrow moves one electron pair, and the film ends on the score above.

Where it comes from

Starch esterified with a little acetic anhydride.

In plain English

A modified plant starch used to condition skin and hair and form a light film. Starch is natural, but the acetic-acid treatment that modifies it is petrochemical, so it is mostly but not entirely natural.

CosIng definition: Starch Acetate is the product obtained by the reaction of acetic acid and starch

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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. 2STARCH ACETATE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3STARCH ACETATE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STARCH%20ACETATE