Red 6 Lake ●
TL;DR. It is an insoluble cosmetic colorant used to give formulas a red to pink shade, especially in lip, cheek, and complexion products.
What does Red 6 Lake do in a cosmetic formula?
It is an insoluble cosmetic colorant used to give formulas a red to pink shade, especially in lip, cheek, and complexion products.
Is Red 6 Lake clean?
It has clean-standard friction because it is a synthetic, batch-certified color additive, and some clean retailers restrict this colorant category. In finished products it is usually low-irritation because it is insoluble, while trace metals and manufacturing impurities are controlled by color-additive specifications.
Is Red 6 Lake sustainable?
This material is typically made from petrochemical feedstocks and converted into an insoluble pigment using inorganic salts. It is not a renewable input and is expected to be environmentally persistent compared with readily biodegradable plant-derived colors.
Is Red 6 Lake COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted in COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic products because the standard generally does not allow synthetic organic colorants of this type. From a Green Chemistry lens, it has weak alignment on renewable sourcing and biodegradability, though its strong tinting efficiency means low use levels can deliver visible color.
How does Red 6 Lake work chemically?
The molecule is an insoluble metal-salt form of a synthetic monoazo dye, designed to disperse as particles rather than dissolve like a water-soluble dye. Use level is shade-driven, and formulators focus on particle wetting, dispersion stability, and compatibility with oils, waxes, film-formers, and other pigments.
Last updated 2026-05-13