D&C Red 21 Lake ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is an insoluble colorant used to give red-to-pink shade in lip, face, and other color cosmetics. It functions as a particulate pigment, so dispersion quality strongly affects payoff and evenness.
What does D&C Red 21 Lake do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is an insoluble colorant used to give red-to-pink shade in lip, face, and other color cosmetics. It functions as a particulate pigment, so dispersion quality strongly affects payoff and evenness.
Is D&C Red 21 Lake clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this material has friction because it is a synthetic certified color additive and many clean frameworks restrict or do not accept this colorant category. It is not mainly an irritation concern for most users, but it depends on tight impurity control and regulatory batch certification.
Is D&C Red 21 Lake sustainable?
This material is synthetically produced from petrochemical-derived aromatic chemistry and deposited onto an inert mineral substrate. It is not readily biodegradable, and the halogenated organic color component gives it weaker environmental alignment than mineral or plant-derived colorants.
Is D&C Red 21 Lake COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient is not permitted in COSMOS organic or COSMOS natural products because synthetic organic colorants of this type are outside the accepted colorant set. Its Green Chemistry fit is weak due to nonrenewable feedstocks, halogenated chemistry, and limited biodegradability.
How does D&C Red 21 Lake work chemically?
Chemically, it is an insoluble xanthene-type organic colorant complexed or deposited onto a mineral substrate, which makes it behave like a pigment rather than a water-soluble dye. Typical use is shade-dependent, often around 0.1% to 5% in color cosmetics, with performance governed by particle dispersion, oil wetting, light exposure, and category-specific color-additive rules.
Last updated 2026-05-13