Cocamide DEA
What It Is
Cocamide DEA — cocamide diethanolamine (CAS 68603-42-9) — is a nonionic surfactant produced by reacting fatty acids from coconut oil with diethanolamine (DEA). It is a clear to amber viscous liquid. Cocamide DEA functions as a foam booster, viscosity modifier, and secondary surfactant. Despite being derived from coconut oil, it is classified as a synthetic surfactant because the reaction with DEA introduces a nitrogen-containing functional group not found in natural coconut.
Common Uses
Cocamide DEA appears in shampoos, bubble baths, hand soaps, dish soaps, body washes, and shaving creams. It is valued for its ability to stabilize and thicken foam at low cost, which is why it became one of the most widely-used auxiliary surfactants in personal care products from the 1970s through the early 2010s. Its use has declined sharply in California-distributed products following the Proposition 65 listing, but it remains common in mass-market personal care products outside that regulatory window.
How It Works
Cocamide DEA stabilizes the foam produced by primary anionic surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate. The molecule's amide structure adds rigidity to the air-water interface that forms foam bubbles, slowing their collapse and producing the dense, long-lasting lather that consumers associate with shampoo and dish soap effectiveness. It also thickens water-based formulations, allowing products to be diluted with water while still feeling viscous enough to dispense properly from a bottle.
Safety and Regulation
Cocamide DEA was added to the California Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer in 2012 (OEHHA, June 22, 2012), based on the National Toxicology Program's 2001 long-term bioassay that found liver and kidney tumors in mice exposed to dermal cocamide DEA. Products sold in California containing cocamide DEA above the safe harbor level must carry a Proposition 65 warning. The compound also raises a separate concern: under certain conditions during formulation or storage, cocamide DEA can react with nitrite preservatives to form nitrosamines, which are themselves established carcinogens (CIR Expert Panel Final Report, 1996, amended 2012). The EU does not ban cocamide DEA but restricts its use through limits on residual diethanolamine and nitrosamine content.
Why Natural Flower Power Does Not Use It
Natural Flower Power does not use cocamide DEA in any product.
The Proposition 65 listing in 2012 was the trigger event for many ethical personal care brands to reformulate away from cocamide DEA. We took the same path. We use cocamide DIPA (cocamide diisopropanolamine) as our coconut-derived foam booster — DIPA is the diisopropanolamine analog of DEA, with isopropyl groups instead of ethyl groups, and it does not carry the same nitrosamine formation pathway or the Prop 65 carcinogen listing. The cocamide DIPA we use achieves the same functional role with a substantially cleaner safety profile.
Related Ingredients
Cocamide DIPA is the coconut-derived foam booster Natural Flower Power uses instead of cocamide DEA. Diethanolamine (DEA) is the standalone compound that reacts with coconut fatty acids to form cocamide DEA — both are excluded from our formulations. Triethanolamine (TEA) is a related ethanolamine with its own safety considerations. Cocamidopropyl betaine is another coconut-derived secondary surfactant we use.
Sources
- California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). "Cocamide Diethanolamine Listed Effective June 22, 2012." Proposition 65 Carcinogens List.
- National Toxicology Program. "NTP Technical Report on the Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of Coconut Oil Diethanolamine Condensate." NTP TR 479, 2001.
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) Expert Panel. "Final Report on the Safety Assessment of Cocamide DEA." International Journal of Toxicology, 1996; amended 2012.
