Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
No meaningful concern for most people; irritation is possible but rare.
What it is
This is a copolymer of sodium acrylate and sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate. CosIng records five functions for it: anticaking, emulsion stabilising, film forming, opacifying and viscosity controlling. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review lists it as a dispersing agent, emulsion stabiliser, opacifying agent and aqueous viscosity-increasing agent, and in 2017 found it safe as used as part of the acryloyldimethyltaurate polymer family. In US data from 2017 it was in 197 formulations, 190 of them leave-on, and a 2015 industry survey put its maximum concentrations at 0.023-3.2%. In this catalogue it appears only on Caudalie's VinoHydra cream mask.
How it shows up on a label
Twelfth of 32 on Caudalie's VinoHydra cream mask.
What it does well
Serves as the thickener and emulsion stabiliser in the formula
Viscosity controlling and emulsion stabilising are among the five functions CosIng records for it. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review lists the same two, with dispersing and opacifying. This is the job it is added to do, not a measured effect of the mask 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 this copolymer itself. The data it reviewed are on other members of the family, and the panel found that none of those studies raised concern. It 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 copolymer.
Where the EU stands
No specific restriction
Not restricted for cosmetic use in the EU: the copolymer appears in no annex of the Cosmetics Regulation as consolidated on 18 May 2026, and CosIng records no annex entry for it. The nearest annex entry is Annex III entry 66, "Polyacrylamides", which caps residual acrylamide at 0.1 mg/kg in body leave-on products and 0.5 mg/kg in other products. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review lists the four members of this family that are built partly from acrylamide as falling under that entry, and this copolymer is not one of them; its sister with acrylamide added, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate/Acrylamide Copolymer, is. Acrylamide itself is prohibited by Annex II entry 681 "unless regulated elsewhere in this Regulation".
Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 - no annex entry under this INCI name; nearest class entry is Annex III entry 66 (polyacrylamides, residual acrylamide limit) · source ↗
Sources (3)
Every link goes to the original: a journal, a PubMed record or an EU document.
- [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. Conclusion: "the following ingredients are safe in cosmetics in the present practices of use and concentration described in this safety assessment", Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer among them. Definition (Table 1): "a copolymer of sodium acrylate and sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate monomers", CAS 77019-71-7, functions dispersing agent - nonsurfactant, emulsion stabilizer, opacifying agent, viscosity increasing agent - aqueous. Use: "197 uses (190 leave-on and 7 rinse-off products)" (2017 VCRP); maximum concentration 0.023-3.2%, leave-on 0.023-2.4%, rinse-off 0.6-3.2% (Table 4). The ingredient appears in the report's lists, definitions and use tables but in no test summary. "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 Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate/Acrylamide Copolymer, with three other acrylamide-containing members, as "restricted in Europe according to the European Union (EU) Annex III/66". Checked 15 October 2026.
- [2]CosIng entry: Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer
European Commission, CosIng database
INCI name SODIUM ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER, status active, description "a copolymer of sodium acrylate and sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate monomers". Functions: anticaking; emulsion stabilising; film forming; opacifying; 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 copolymer does not appear. Checked 15 October 2026.
- [3]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", "sodium acrylate" or CAS 77019-71-7. 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.
