“Cocamide MEA?”Here!
Hasn’t appeared in a scanned product yet.
In personal care
A fatty acid amide derived from coconut oil and ethanolamine, used as a thickener and foam enhancer.
Why it’s used
Added to shampoos and cleansers to boost and stabilize foam, and to thicken the product's texture.
What the evidence says
We haven’t found a source for this one that you can open and check, so we’re not summarizing the evidence.
Look it up yourself
We would rather point you at the shelf than summarize something you can’t check. These are the same places we search:
- PubChem — what the substance is, chemically — names, synonyms and structure
- PubMed — every paper indexed by the US National Library of Medicine that names it
These are starting points, not our findings — we haven’t run them for you. A substance whose name is also an ordinary word (“Heart”, “Alanine”, “Water”) will return papers that are not about the ingredient at all.
Context
This is a rinse-off product ingredient in most uses (shampoos, body washes); CIR's nitrosamine-contamination concern depends on formulation conditions, not on the ingredient itself inherently forming them.
Rumors
Cocamide MEA washed down the drain harms fish and aquatic life and persists in the environment.
Sources cited — check not cleared.
Measured as an outcome.
Who’s saying this
- Noosa Nude — a brand: sells natural cleaning products
How we know who this is
- “Noosa Nude (previously known as Our Eco Clean) is proudly handmade in Queensland.” (their page)
- “Still rooted in the original promise—safe, effective, natural cleaning with no shortcuts or nasties—Noosa Nude takes that commitment to the next level.” (their page)
- Noosa Nude — a brand: sells natural cleaning products
Cocamide MEA can form cancer-causing nitrosamines.
Supports — suggestivehealth and safety evidence
Measured as a biomarker.
- Final Amended Report On the Safety Assessment of Ethanolamides as Used in Cosmetics (Industry review) · Funding not checked
Who’s saying this
- Noosa Nude — a brand: sells natural cleaning products
How we know who this is
- “Noosa Nude (previously known as Our Eco Clean) is proudly handmade in Queensland.” (their page)
- “Still rooted in the original promise—safe, effective, natural cleaning with no shortcuts or nasties—Noosa Nude takes that commitment to the next level.” (their page)
Cocamide MEA irritates the skin and eyes.
Does not support — suggestivehealth and safety evidence
Measured as an outcome.
- Final Amended Report On the Safety Assessment of Ethanolamides as Used in Cosmetics (Industry review) · Funding not checked
Who’s saying this
- Noosa Nude — a brand: sells natural cleaning products
How we know who this is
- “Noosa Nude (previously known as Our Eco Clean) is proudly handmade in Queensland.” (their page)
- “Still rooted in the original promise—safe, effective, natural cleaning with no shortcuts or nasties—Noosa Nude takes that commitment to the next level.” (their page)
Cocamide MEA in shampoo can be contaminated with cocamide DEA, which leads to carcinogenic nitrosamines.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- shop.morroccomethod.com — we couldn’t open the site to see who runs it
Cocamide MEA cleanses and revives lifeless hair.
We haven’t found evidence strong enough to support this or rule it out.
What was measured is not yet noted.
Who’s saying this
- lush.com — we couldn’t open the site to see who runs it