nylon-6 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is used as a texture modifier, bulking agent, absorbent, and soft-focus powder in color cosmetics and skin-care formulas. It can improve slip, reduce greasiness, and help pigments spread more evenly.
What does nylon-6 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is used as a texture modifier, bulking agent, absorbent, and soft-focus powder in color cosmetics and skin-care formulas. It can improve slip, reduce greasiness, and help pigments spread more evenly.
Is nylon-6 clean?
Clean-beauty frameworks often flag it because it is an insoluble synthetic polymer and falls under microplastic scrutiny, rather than because of common skin irritation. It has significant restricted-list friction in standards that limit persistent synthetic particulates.
Is nylon-6 sustainable?
This material is typically petrochemical-derived and is not readily biodegradable. As a fine solid particle, it may persist through wastewater pathways and accumulate in sludge or aquatic sediment.
Is nylon-6 COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards. Its synthetic origin, persistence, and poor biodegradability are a weak fit with Green Chemistry preferences for renewable feedstocks and end-of-life breakdown.
How does nylon-6 work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, semicrystalline synthetic solid built from repeating amide-linked hydrocarbon units. It is insoluble in water and most cosmetic oils, generally stable across normal cosmetic pH ranges, and functions as a dispersed particulate rather than a dissolved active.
Last updated 2026-05-13