How we scored it
Amide of stearic acid (C18 fatty acid, 284.5 Da) and glutamic acid (147.1 Da) minus condensation water (18.0)=413.6 Da; both blocks natural, condensation water leaves no petrochemical mass.
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
Made by condensing stearic acid, typically from palm or other vegetable oil, with glutamic acid from fermentation. Both feedstocks are natural origin, so the amide is fully natural.
In plain English
A mild cleansing ingredient made by combining a plant-derived fatty acid with an amino acid from fermentation. Used in cleansers and conditioners; both of its building blocks are natural.
Structure
(2S)-2-(octadecanoylamino)pentanedioic acid
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.
- 2Stearoyl Glutamic Acid. PubChem CID 94481. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- 3STEAROYL GLUTAMIC ACID. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
- 4STEAROYL GLUTAMIC ACID. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEAROYL%20GLUTAMIC%20ACID