CONDITIONING AGENT
Acetamide MEA
- conditioning agent
A humectant that also improves slip, used in conditioners and styling creams.
- products in our library
- 44
- of researched products
- 0.6%
- on the label, in our leave-ins
- usually #8
- most common in
- Leave-in
- in water
- Water-soluble
At a glance
Four things worth knowing about how this ingredient behaves on hair.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
Whether hair pulls it in or pushes it away, read from its charge.
How much easier it makes a comb pass.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Adhesion | Not recorded | not recorded |
| Slip | Some | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Acetamide MEA does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Included for feel and detangling rather than for cleaning or structure.
Binds water and holds it against the hair rather than adding oil.
What a humectant does depends on the air around it as much as on the formula.
Water alone removes it, so it does not accumulate between washes.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Rinses out with water alone, so it does not build up on hair between washes.
Where it appears
Where it appears
One row per product category in our library: how many products list it, what share of that category that is, and where it typically sits on the label.
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Leave-in
11 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Mask / treatment
9 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Scalp treatment
7 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Shampoo
4 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Conditioner
3 products
|
supporting · #6 | |
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: curl cream
2 products
|
supporting · #4 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
secondary · #23 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
supporting · #6 | |
Heat protectant
1 product
|
supporting · #6 |
2 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: lotion
1 product
|
supporting · #4 | |
Styler: refresh spray
1 product
|
supporting · #4 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave-in | 11 | 2% | 8 | 3 | supporting |
| Mask / treatment | 9 | 2% | 8 | 5 | supporting |
| Scalp treatment | 7 | 2% | 10 | 7 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 4 | 0% | 8 | 6 | supporting |
| Conditioner | 3 | 0% | 6 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 1% | 8 | 8 | supporting |
| Styler: curl cream | 2 | 1% | 4 | 3 | supporting |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 23 | 23 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Heat protectant | 1 | 0% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Styler: lotion | 1 | 3% | 4 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: refresh spray | 1 | 3% | 4 | 4 | supporting |
We have not researched differences by product type yet. The reading below comes from where it sits on the labels in our library.
Position footprint
Every listing in our library, by position on the label.
| Positions | Zone | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Leading | 3 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 23 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 12 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 3 |
| 26+ | Trace | 3 |
How to read this
US labelling rules put ingredients above 1% in descending order of amount; below 1% they may be listed in any order.
So position tells you about relative amount only above that line, and we never convert a position into a percentage.
Who should pay attention
Formulation guidance for specific hair conditions, limited to the label positions where it applies. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, or about you.
Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.
Humectants bind water into the strand, and water — not oil — is what makes dry hair flexible instead of brittle.
A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.
Read from this ingredient’s chemical class. Where we have researched the ingredient itself, that reading replaces the class one.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- easier combing
- hydration rather than oil
- a rinse-clean feel
- less frizz and easier combing
- an exact safety score (we do not publish one for any ingredient)
- how a finished product performs, which depends on the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle, because label position never converts into a number
- a supporting conditioning agent alongside the main ingredients in our leave-ins
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- that a product is right or wrong for you
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.
Commonly paired with
The ingredients that most often appear alongside this one in our library. We leave out the near-universal ones, because they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Propylene Glycol · 18
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 18
- Polyquaternium-37 · 13
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 13
- Disodium EDTA · 12
- Amodimethicone · 10
- Cetyl Alcohol · 10
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 10
- Benzyl Alcohol · 10
- Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol · 9
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to carry the formula and let it dry, soften the strand, and improve feel after rinsing.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Clairol · Conditioner
Professional Shimmer Lights Purple Conditioner for Blonde & Silver Hair
#2 on the label · $0.77/oz
As I Am · Styler
Twist Defining Cream
#3 on the label · $1.25/oz
Design Essentials · Leave-in
Almond & Avocado Daily Moisturizing Lotion
#3 on the label · $1.33/oz
Design Essentials · Styler
Coconut & Monoi Coconut Water Curl Refresher
#4 on the label · $1.25/oz
Design Essentials · Styler
Wave By Design Define & Shine 2N1 Dry Finishing Lotion
#4 on the label · $1.88/oz
Ouidad · Styler
Curl Shaper Take Shape Plumping Defining Cream
#4 on the label · $3.25/oz
Design Essentials · Leave-in
Coconut & Monoi Deep Moisture Milk Soufflé
#5 on the label · $0.83/oz
VO5 · Mask / treatment
Hot Oil Therapy
#5 on the label · $4.99/oz
Better Not Younger · Heat protectant
No Remorse Heat Protection & Taming Spray
#6 on the label · $5.50/oz
Design Essentials · Finisher
Wave By Design Mist & Shine Dry Finishing Spray
#6 on the label · $1.88/oz
Keratin Complex · Shampoo
Color Care Smoothing Shampoo
#6 on the label · $2.22/oz
Moroccanoil · Conditioner
Hydrating Conditioner
#6 on the label · $3.53/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Acetamide MEA
- CAS 142-26-7
- PubChem 8880
- humectant
- acetamide mea
- acetamide monoethanolamine
For your hair?
Whether Acetamide MEA matters for your hair depends on your hair.
44 products in our library list itWhat this ingredient does, and where it sits on the labels we have researched.
A verdict on any product that contains it, and never a safety grade.
We do not physically test your hair. Everything above comes from the ingredient lists in our library and from published references. The consultation is what turns it into a plan.
References
Sourced Backed by a manufacturer or regulatory source.
This ingredient
- Manufacturer or regulatory PubChem : Compound identity: CID 8880, CAS 142-26-7, C4H9NO2 · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 44 of 6816 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one comes from what kind of ingredient it is (its chemical class, charge and solubility) or from where it sits on the labels we have.
- 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.
- The prominence bands (leading, supporting, secondary) are the same ones the product pages use to read a single label, applied here to the median position across a category.
- 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.
- Identifiers and references appear only when a published source is attached to this entry. Without one, we leave the row out rather than fill it in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-09-22. Product-page methodology: the product library.
