Ingredient library

Every ingredient we have annotated

Each entry is tied to the actual labels in our product library: which product types list it, where it sits on those labels, and what that position can and cannot tell you. Nothing here is a safety score.

Published entries1774of 3726 in the dictionary

Products researched3889every ingredient list captured as printed

Label placements104488individual listings behind these pages

Look up an ingredient

Search the dictionary by name, or browse by what an ingredient does below.

By what they do

Sixteen families cover the dictionary. Each one lists the entries our library sees most often; the number beside a name is how many products list it.

Fragrance · 141 entries

Declared scent, and the individual scent chemicals EU rules require to be named separately.

129 more in the A–Z list below

Alcohols, solvents and propellants · 47 entries

What the rest of the formula is dissolved in or carried by — from water, to the fast-evaporating alcohols that make a spray dry quickly, to the gases that push an aerosol out of the can.

35 more in the A–Z list below

Silicones · 71 entries

Slip and surface smoothing. They differ mainly in whether water alone removes them.

59 more in the A–Z list below

Proteins and amino acids · 102 entries

Fragments that bind to the hair surface and temporarily stiffen it. Welcome on damaged hair, unwelcome on hair that already feels rigid.

90 more in the A–Z list below

Conditioning agents · 104 entries

Positively charged ingredients that are drawn to damaged hair and stay behind after rinsing, lowering combing friction.

92 more in the A–Z list below

Cleansers and emulsifiers · 222 entries

The molecules that lift oil into water — whether to wash it away or to hold it in a stable cream.

210 more in the A–Z list below

Waxes · 25 entries

Solid at room temperature: separation, grip, and a matte or low-shine finish rather than slip.

13 more in the A–Z list below

Film formers and thickeners · 105 entries

Ingredients that dry to a film — the mechanism behind hold, and behind the texture of a gel or cream.

93 more in the A–Z list below

Oils, butters and emollients · 277 entries

Lipids that soften the strand and slow water loss. Weight is what separates one from another.

265 more in the A–Z list below

Humectants · 31 entries

Water-binding ingredients. What they do depends on the air around them as much as on the formula.

19 more in the A–Z list below

Vitamins and actives · 32 entries

Ingredients included for a specific stated effect rather than for texture or stability.

20 more in the A–Z list below

Preservatives and antioxidants · 53 entries

What stops a water-containing product growing microbes over its shelf life, and stops its oils turning rancid.

41 more in the A–Z list below

Chelators and pH adjusters · 36 entries

The quiet housekeeping of a formula: hard-water minerals tied up, acidity set where the hair cuticle prefers it.

24 more in the A–Z list below

Minerals, clays and powders · 22 entries

Solids that absorb oil, add grip, or make a clear formula opaque.

10 more in the A–Z list below

Colourants · 45 entries

Colour for the product in the bottle — or, in a depositing product, colour meant to transfer to the hair.

33 more in the A–Z list below

Botanical extracts · 461 entries

Plant-derived extracts, juices and waters. Usually present well below the 1% line, where label order stops indicating amount.

449 more in the A–Z list below

Browse A–Z

Every published entry, with the number of products in our library that list it.

A · 127

B · 91

C · 278

D · 63

E · 53

F · 12

G · 55

H · 119

I · 36

J · 7

K · 5

L · 88

M · 90

N · 9

O · 58

P · 279

Q · 10

R · 58

S · 184

T · 76

U · 9

V · 29

W · 4

X · 6

Y · 12

Z · 13

# · 3

How the library works

An entry gets a page once it has a written description and appears in at least three researched products. Below that we leave the name as plain text on the product pages rather than publishing a page with nothing on it.
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order. Position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
We do not publish safety scores or hazard grades. Where a regulator has published a restriction or a use condition, we state it and cite it; otherwise we describe what the ingredient does and stop.
Nothing on these pages is paid placement, and we do not sell any of the products they link to.