Coconut Oil seems to be the solution for everything these days. While beauty and health bloggers cant get enough of it, a coconut imposter has been hiding in many cosmetics. 

What is Cocamide MEA & DEA? 

Made by mixing the fatty acids from coconut oil and monoethanolamine (MEA) or diethanalomine (DEA) these compounds come in two forms. C-MEA is a white and waxy substance and C-DEA is an often clear liquid, but both are used by cosmetic and personal hygiene manufactures as a foaming or thickening agent in soaps and body wash, shampoos, and other cosmetics. 

Why is it used in cosmetics?

While it is not the ingredient responsible for cleansing, its foaming properties allows the hands to efficiently spread the soap or shampoo on the skin/ scalp which assists in removing dirt and buildup. 

Cocamide MEA & DEA is most often used in opaque and syrupy cosmetic formulations such as hair dye, shampoo, body wash, dandruff treatment, liquid hand soap, cleansers, exfoliant/scrub, and bubble bath.

 Why do we choose to NOT include them in our products?

Salons and their customers rely on All-Nutrient's research and development to be in the forefront of providing safer, natural and organic ingredients in our formulations and products.

Inhalation of Cocamide MEA in aerosol products by humans is toxic, but based on limited data MEA is considered safe when used in rinse-off products and in small concentrations up to 10% in leave-on products. 

Although the Food & Drug Association (FDA) website states that, "at the present time there is no reason for consumers to be alarmed based on the use of these substances [Cocamide DEA and other ingredients that also contain DEA] in cosmetics," they also list that while these compounds are safe for beauty products and personal hygiene, they DO NOT regulate the levels of those ingredients. 

According to research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the level and concentration of these compounds when used can be toxic or harmful. In fact, large or heavy DEA exposure has been shown to be potentially carcinogenic in humans and increase the risk of cancer. In small doses, DEA has been known to cause skin irritation, allergic reactions, and produce mild dermatitis.

FACT: California banned the use of DEA in cosmetics after the Center for Environmental Health released a list of retailers that were using it. Recognize anything?

Sources: https://www.truthinaging.com/ingredients/cocamide-mea , https://www.mapleholistics.com/blog/cocamide-dea-in-shampoos-conditioners-and-beauty-products/ , https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/Ingredients/ucm109655.htm , http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/109158189901800204 , https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/701517/COCAMIDE_MEA/#.Wyf76hJKjUI , https://www.ceh.org/cocamide-dea-companies/ ,http://www.iarc.fr/search.php?cx=009987501641899931167%3Ajwf5bx4tx78&cof=FORID%3A9&ie=UTF-8&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&sa=&q=dea