Is Cocamidopropylamine Oxide Safe?
Is Cocamidopropylamine Oxide Safe? Let's look at the available data
What is Cocamidopropylamine Oxide?
Cocamidopropylamine Oxide is a tertiary amine oxide. It acts as a surfactant, foam booster, and hair conditioning agent in cosmetic items.
How is it made?
Cocamidopropylamine Oxide is created by reacting coconut oil with dimethylaminodpropylamine and then further reacted with hydrogen peroxide to form cocamidopropylamine oxide. (Source)
What are its risks?
Cocamidopropylamine Oxide has a fairly safe chemical profile on its own. It as a pretty low acute toxicity, isn't known to be a reproductive or endocrine toxin, not found to be a mutagen, not a common skin irritant, and isn't known to have carcinogenic activity.
However, cocamidopropylamine oxide may contain impurities from the manufacturing process. "According to CTFA (1997), Cocamidopropylamine Oxide contains ≤3000 ppm free amidoamine and ≤5 ppm free DMAPA. Commercial products made with amine oxides may contain “unreacted amine and various other products originating from different stages of synthesis” (Janik and Podg´orski 1988). (Source)
Amidoamines are a class of chemicals with the potential to be skin allergens or irritants. It is likely responsible for skin reactions to cocamidopropylamine oxide and other similar chemicals, like cocamidopropyl betaine.
DMAPA, aka Dimethylaminopropylamine, is also a known skin irritant. Workers involved in the production of cocamidopropylamine oxide may be exposed to Dimethylaminopropylamine and experience lung damage from inhalation. (Source)(Source) It is also corrosive to skin and eyes and an irritant at even low concentrations.
Bottom Line:
Cocamidopropylamine Oxide is a synthetic chemical with partial natural feedstocks. On its own, it's a fairly harmless ingredient, however it can be contaminated with harmful irritants.
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