Database/Cleansing/TEA-Cocoyl Glutaminate
Mostly natural · ISO 16128

Is TEA-Cocoyl Glutaminate natural?

Mostly. Coconut fatty acid and fermentation-derived glutamic acid are natural, but triethanolamine, made from ethylene oxide and ammonia, is petrochemical and stays as the counter-ion.

INCI nameTEA-Cocoyl Glutaminate
FunctionCleansing · Cleansing Surfactant
FeedstockDominant route: coconut-derived acyl chloride acylates fermentation-derived L-glutamic…

How we scored it

Reading 'glutaminate' as glutamate: mono-TEA salt of N-lauroyl-glutamic acid (cocoyl ~C12). Natural 329.4; petrochemical triethanolamine C6H15NO3 149.2. Total 478.6; 329.4/478.6 = 0.69.
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

Dominant route: coconut-derived acyl chloride acylates fermentation-derived L-glutamic acid, and the acid is neutralised with triethanolamine. Sodium or potassium salts of the same acid would score 1.0, but this INCI names TEA.

In plain English

A foaming amino-acid cleansing surfactant used in facial and body washes. It joins coconut fatty acids to glutamic acid, an amino acid made by fermentation, and is neutralised with triethanolamine, a petrochemical amine.

CosIng definition: Tea-Cocoyl Glutaminate

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