Coco Betaine Bon Cleansing Agent No known benefits Coco Betaine at a glance Surfactant derived from coconut oil Has cleansing + foaming properties Also has anti-static abilities Ruled safe as used in cosmetics Coco Betaine description Coco betaine is a surface-active agent (also known as a surfactant) derived from coconut oil. It’s useful in skin care and hair care products due to its cleansing and foaming abilities. In hair care specifically, it’s valuable because of its anti-static properties. The independent Cosmetic Ingredient Review has ruled coco betaine safe as used in cosmetics, where tests found it gentle and non-irritating. Though coco betaine shares some properties with the similarly named cocoamidapropyl betaine, they are not the same ingredient. Cocamidopropyl betaine is considered milder and is synthetic, while coco-betaine is natural.