Is Steartrimonium Hydroxyethyl Hydrolyzed Collagen natural? NOI 0.90

Q: Is Steartrimonium Hydroxyethyl Hydrolyzed Collagen natural?

Steartrimonium Hydroxyethyl Hydrolyzed Collagen has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 0.90 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. The collagen peptide backbone dominates the mass; the small quaternary stearyl group is part natural fat, part synthetic amine/epoxide linker. An NOI of 0.90 means 90% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

How we scored it

Hydrolyzed collagen backbone (est. ~1500 Da, natural) plus one stearyl-trimethylammonium-glycidyl group (~406 Da: stearyl+Cl natural 289 Da, trimethylamine+glycidyl 117 Da petrochemical). (1500+289)/1906 ~ 0.90.

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 reacting hydrolyzed animal collagen with a stearyl trimethyl ammonium epoxide reagent (fatty stearyl chain from natural fat; trimethylamine and epoxide linker from petrochemicals). Degree of substitution and peptide size vary by supplier.

In plain English

A conditioning ingredient for hair and skin made from animal collagen protein that's been treated with a fatty, charged group so it clings better to hair and skin.

CosIng definition: Steartrimonium Hydroxyethyl Hydrolyzed Collagen is the quaternary ammonium chloride formed by the reaction of a terminally epoxide substituted stearyl trimethyl ammonium chloride with Hydrolyzed Collagen

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