Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate

What it is

Ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl taurate is the homopolymer of ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate, meaning it is built from that one monomer and no other. CosIng records two functions for it, emulsion stabilising and viscosity controlling, and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review lists the same pair. It belongs to the family of 21 acryloyldimethyltaurate polymers that the Cosmetic Ingredient Review found safe as used in 2017. In US data from 2017 it was in 187 formulations, 178 of them leave-on, and a 2015 industry survey put its maximum concentrations at 0.015-2.3%. In this catalogue all seven masks that print it are sheet or tissue masks: four from Garnier and three from SOME BY MI.

How it shows up on a label

What it does well

• Serves as the thickener and emulsion stabiliser in the formula

  Emulsion stabilising and viscosity controlling are the functions CosIng records for it, and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review lists the same two. This is the job it is added to do, not a measured effect of these masks on skin.

  Strong evidence

• Reviewed as safe as used, on data from related polymers

  The Cosmetic Ingredient Review concluded in 2017 that the acryloyldimethyltaurate polymers, this one among them, are safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration. The grade here is low because its report contains no test of ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl taurate itself. The data it reviewed are on other members of the family, and the panel found that none of those studies raised concern. The closest are tests on the sodium salt of the same homopolymer, a separate ingredient, which caused no irritation or sensitisation in a 100-person repeat patch test at 30-40%. The panel added that these polymers are large molecules that should not be absorbed through the skin.

  Limited evidence

Worth knowing

• Purity depends on how the polymer is made

  The Cosmetic Ingredient Review was concerned about impurities, including leftover monomers, in this family of polymers. The three monomers it named (acrylamide, vinyl formamide and methacrylamidolauric acid) are each in a different member of the family, not in this one. It applied its 5 ppm acrylamide limit, from its review of polyacrylamide, to finished products containing any of these polymers, and said the industry should keep using good manufacturing practice to limit impurities. The report gives no purity figures for this ingredient. The only figures for a homopolymer in the family are for the sodium salt: under 2000 ppm of its own monomer and under 10 ppm acrylamide, the detection limit.

Where the EU stands

Sources (4)

Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.

1. [1]
   Safety Assessment of Acryloyldimethyltaurate Polymers as Used in Cosmetics - final report

   Cosmetic Ingredient Review · 2017

   Final report, released 24 May 2017 (Panel meeting 10-11 April 2017), covering 21 polymers "the monomers of which are at least partially composed of acryloyldimethyltaurate". Conclusion: "the following ingredients are safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment", Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate among them. Definition (Table 1): "the homopolymer of ammonium acryloyldimethyltaurate", CAS 62152-14-1, functions "Emulsion stabilizer; viscosity increasing agent - aqueous". Use: "187 uses (178 leave-on and 9 rinse-off products)" (2017 VCRP); maximum concentration 0.015-2.3%, leave-on 0.015-2.3%, rinse-off 0.078-1.5% (Table 4). The ingredient appears in the report's lists, definitions and use tables but in no test summary. The nearest data, on the sodium salt: "Sodium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate is reported to contain <2000 ppm 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid (AMPS) and <10 ppm (detection limit) acrylamide"; in an HRIPT at 30-40%, n=100, "No adverse reactions were observed during the study. Not irritating or sensitizing." "Toxicokinetic data were not found"; "Developmental and reproductive toxicity data were not found". Discussion: "There were no studies that elicited concern"; the polymers "are large molecules ... and should not be absorbed through the skin"; "The Panel expressed concern about impurities, including residual monomers", naming "acrylamide (in Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate/Acrylamide/VP Copolymer), vinyl formamide (in Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vinyl Formamide Copolymer), and methacrylamidolauric acid (in Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Methacrylamidolauric Acid Copolymer)"; it applied "the limit of 5 ppm acrylamide ... to finished products containing the ingredients in this safety assessment" and said industry "should continue to use cGMPs to limit impurities". The report lists four acrylamide-containing members as "restricted in Europe according to the European Union (EU) Annex III/66". Checked 15 October 2026.

2. [2]
   Quick Reference Table: CIR conclusions by ingredient

   Cosmetic Ingredient Review · 2024

   The table of conclusions, updated October 2024, lists Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate with finding S (safe), "Final Report 4/2017 Available from CIR". Checked 15 October 2026.

3. [3]
   CosIng entry: Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate

   European Commission, CosIng database

   INCI name AMMONIUM POLYACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE, status active, chemical description "1-Propanesulfonic acid, 2-methyl-2-[(1-oxo-2-propenyl)amino]-, monoammonium salt, homopolymer", CAS 62152-14-1. Functions: emulsion stabilising; viscosity controlling. No annex number or cosmetic restriction is recorded. The record carries an "other restrictions" tag reading "ban substances that deplete the ozone layer"; this is not a restriction under Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, in whose annexes the ingredient does not appear. Checked 15 October 2026.

4. [4]
   Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, consolidated text of 18 May 2026

   Official Journal of the European Union · 2026

   A sweep of the full consolidated text finds no occurrence of "taurate", "acryloyldimethyl" or CAS 62152-14-1. Annex III entry 66 reads "Polyacrylamides", with "(a) Body- leave-on products: Maximum residual acrylamide content 0,1 mg/kg" and "(b) Other products: Maximum residual acrylamide content 0,5 mg/kg". Annex II entry 681 reads "Acrylamide, unless regulated elsewhere in this Regulation" (CAS 79-06-1). Checked 15 October 2026.