ACID YELLOW 3
ACID YELLOW 3, also referred to in international references as Quinoline Yellow, is a synthetic yellow colorant. It does not come from a plant: it is a mixture of salts of sulfonated acids related to a quinoline structure. The label therefore identifies a family of colorant components rather than one substance obtained from a botanical part.
ACID YELLOW 3: what it is
ACID YELLOW 3, also referred to in international references as Quinoline Yellow, is a synthetic yellow colorant. It does not come from a plant: it is a mixture of salts of sulfonated acids related to a quinoline structure. The label therefore identifies a family of colorant components rather than one substance obtained from a botanical part.
The mixture is made by sulfonating a quinoline compound. Related materials can contain different proportions of mono- and disulfonated components; the material associated with this name is mainly disulfonated and is close to the colorant identified as CI 47005. That distinction matters because similar yellow colorant names can refer to different compositions.
ACID YELLOW 3: what it does in cosmetics
In hair products, ACID YELLOW 3 is used to add or adjust a yellow tone in the finished color. In everyday terms, it is a dye: it contributes to the visible appearance of the hair, not to moisture, softness, or repair of the fiber.
The available European assessment examined it in non-oxidative hair-coloring products, meaning formulas that deposit color without the oxidation step typical of many permanent dyes. It does not show that the ingredient improves hair health or justify assigning the results of an entire formula to this colorant.
ACID YELLOW 3: conditions and care
The available safety conclusion covers non-oxidative hair-coloring products with up to 0.5% ACID YELLOW 3 on the head. That concentration and use type should not be extrapolated to other applications.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
