Is Tourmaline natural? NOI 1.00

Q: Is Tourmaline natural?

Tourmaline has a Natural Origin Index (NOI) of 1.00 (scale 0–1) per ISO 16128. A crystalline mineral silicate mined from the earth; all constituent elements are mineral, hence natural origin. An NOI of 1.00 means 100% of its molecular mass is traceable to a natural, renewable source.

How we scored it

Complex mineral cyclosilicate, = 1.0

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

Mined as a natural gemstone-grade mineral and processed only by grinding/milling. Composition is a complex aluminum-boron cyclosilicate with iron and other metal ions.

In plain English

A naturally occurring gemstone mineral, a complex silicate containing aluminum, boron, iron and other metals. Used in cosmetics to help control the thickness of a formula.

CosIng definition: Complex aluminum and boron cyclosilicate, containing iron, magnesium, manganese, calcium, sodium, potassium, lithium and fluorine

Structure

sodium;boric acid;iron;2,4,6,8,9,11,12,13-octaoxa-1,5,10-trisila-3,7-dialuminatetracyclo[3.3.3.11,3.15,7]tridecane 10-oxide;oxo-bis(2,4,5-trioxa-1-sila-3-aluminabicyclo[1.1.1]pentan-1-yloxy)silane;bis(2,4,5-trioxa-1-bora-3-aluminabicyclo[1.1.1]pentane);hydroxide;trihydrate

PubChem CID 129627665 ↗

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.
2Tourmaline. PubChem CID 129627665. National Center for Biotechnology Information. pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
3TOURMALINE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
4TOURMALINE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=TOURMALINE