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Co

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

A coconut-based helper cleanser that adds foam, thickens and softens harsher cleansers. Sometimes an allergen, from leftover by-products.

What it does

On its own it’s a mild cleanser; in a product it boosts foam, thickens the texture and makes a harsher cleanser like SLS less irritating. It comes from coconut but is heavily processed. It’s sometimes an allergen, usually from leftover manufacturing by-products, which have dropped over the years.

The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a thickener (controls how thick the product is) and a cleanser (helps keep skin clean).European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗

The evidence, graded

moderateFragrance, essential oils, denatured alcohol and certain preservatives (methylisothiazolinone, the formaldehyde-releasers) are the usual suspects on sensitive skin. In the patch-test data read here — patients whose dermatitis was linked to a cleanser — the preservative quaternium-15 topped the list at 11.2% and fragrance mix I came fifth at 7.7%. Test a new product on a small patch of skin before you use it on your face.Warshaw 2018 · Dermatitis ↗

Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.

Also known as

CAPB

Pairs worth knowing

Decyl Glucoside · works together ↗Coco Glucoside · works together ↗Glycerin · works together ↗Panthenol (Pro-vitamin B5) · works together ↗

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