Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a synthetic film-forming resin used to create hard, glossy, durable coatings, especially in nail color. It also helps bind pigments and improve wear, adhesion, and chip resistance.
What does Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a synthetic film-forming resin used to create hard, glossy, durable coatings, especially in nail color. It also helps bind pigments and improve wear, adhesion, and chip resistance.
Is Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is a synthetic film-forming polymer rather than a biodegradable, naturally derived material. It is typically low in direct skin irritation when fully reacted, but clean standards may flag it for polymer persistence and possible residual monomer controls.
Is Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer sustainable?
It is made from petrochemical feedstocks through polymerization, and it is not considered readily biodegradable. Because it is designed to form durable films, environmental persistence is the main sustainability drawback.
Is Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer COSMOS-approved?
It is generally not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards, which tightly limit synthetic petrochemical polymers. Its Green Chemistry profile is weak because the feedstocks are nonrenewable and the finished polymer is persistent.
How does Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer work chemically?
The molecule is a branched synthetic polyester made by step-growth condensation of multifunctional acid and diol building blocks, giving a rigid resin with multiple ester linkages and aromatic functionality. It is used mainly in solvent-based systems, especially nail color, at resin-level percentages often in the low single digits to teens, and it is stable in anhydrous formulas but can slowly hydrolyze under strong acid, strong base, or high-water conditions.
Last updated 2026-05-13