Database/Antistatic/Steartrimonium Chloride
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is Steartrimonium Chloride natural?

Mostly. The stearyl chain and chloride ion are natural; the nitrogen (from ammonia) and three methyl groups (from methyl chloride) are treated as petrochemical.

INCI nameSteartrimonium Chloride
CAS112-03-8
FormulaC21H46ClN · 348.0 Da
FunctionAntistatic · Hair Conditioning
FeedstockMade from stearylamine, derived from natural stearic acid…

How we scored it

Stearyl (C18 oleochemical, natural) 253 + Cl- (mineral, natural) 35 = 289; N (ammonia-derived) 14 + 3xCH3 (methyl chloride, petrochemical) 45 = 59 -> 289/348 = 0.83
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 from stearylamine, derived from natural stearic acid via nitrile hydrogenation, then quaternized with methyl chloride and chloride ion. The fatty chain is the dominant mass.

In plain English

A conditioning agent used in hair conditioners and fabric softeners to reduce static and add softness. Its long fatty chain comes from natural fats; the small quaternary ammonium head group is synthetic.

CosIng definition: Steartrimonium Chloride is the quaternary ammonium salt that conforms to the formula:

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Structure

2D structure of Steartrimonium Chloride

trimethyl(octadecyl)azanium chloride

PubChem CID 8155 ↗

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. 2Steartrimonium Chloride. PubChem CID 8155. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
  3. 3STEARTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  4. 4STEARTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=STEARTRIMONIUM%20CHLORIDE