Red 36 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a synthetic colorant used to give red to pink tones in makeup, nail products, and some personal care formulas. It functions as a visual color additive, not as a skin-care active.
What does Red 36 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a synthetic colorant used to give red to pink tones in makeup, nail products, and some personal care formulas. It functions as a visual color additive, not as a skin-care active.
Is Red 36 clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is a synthetic certified color additive and may be restricted by retailer or brand standards. The main concerns are petroleum-derived azo chemistry, trace impurity controls, and use-area limitations rather than routine skin irritation.
Is Red 36 sustainable?
This material is typically made from petrochemical aromatic feedstocks, so it is not a renewable input. Synthetic azo colorants can be slow to biodegrade and can color wastewater at very low concentrations, making manufacturing effluent control important.
Is Red 36 COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it is a synthetic colorant rather than an approved mineral or naturally derived color source. Its Green Chemistry fit is weak due to petrochemical feedstocks, multi-step synthesis, and limited biodegradability.
How does Red 36 work chemically?
The molecule is an oil-soluble synthetic azo dye with aromatic rings and a conjugated chromophore that produces strong visible color at low concentrations. It is generally used at very low pigment loadings, and formulators must follow regional color-additive rules for product category, purity certification, and use area.
Last updated 2026-05-14