HUMECTANT
Caprylyl Glycol
- humectant
A gentle preservative helper that also holds a little moisture.
- products in our library
- 692
- of researched products
- 18%
- on the label, in our conditioners
- usually #20
- most common in
- Conditioner
- in water
- Water-soluble
At a glance
Four named levels, read from this ingredient’s chemical class, its charge, its solubility, or where it sits on the labels we have. More dots means more of the property named — never “better”.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
How strongly the class holds on to water.
The strongest binders are the ones the weather moves most.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Water-binding | Modest | 2 of 5 |
| Humidity sensitivity | Barely | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Caprylyl Glycol does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
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.
Anything with water in it needs one, over the life of the bottle.
Water alone removes it, so it does not accumulate between washes.
Charge
Carries no charge, so it neither clings to hair nor is pushed away by it. Nonionic ingredients are the mild, pH-tolerant workhorses of a formula.
Solubility
Rinses out with water alone — it does not accumulate 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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Conditioner
134 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Shampoo
124 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Leave-in
117 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Mask / treatment
76 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: gel
42 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: mousse
31 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Heat protectant
30 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: curl cream
22 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: paste
22 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Co-wash
19 products
|
secondary · #17 |
10 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: smoothing cream
19 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Scalp treatment
15 products
|
secondary · #21 | |
Styler: volumizer
15 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: serum
9 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
5 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: texture spray
4 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: edge control
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: lotion
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Finisher: oil
1 product
|
supporting · #7 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditioner | 134 | 19% | 20 | 5 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 124 | 15% | 20 | 2 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 117 | 28% | 15 | 4 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 76 | 19% | 19 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 42 | 27% | 13 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 31 | 22% | 17 | 5 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 30 | 21% | 14 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 22 | 21% | 18 | 9 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 22 | 24% | 15 | 7 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 19 | 19% | 17 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 19 | 34% | 20 | 11 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 15 | 9% | 21 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 15 | 23% | 11 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 9 | 11% | 18 | 8 | secondary |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 5 | 21% | 15 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 4 | 7% | 14 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 3% | 16 | 13 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 2 | 13% | 12 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 2 | 17% | 12 | 11 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 1 | 1% | 7 | 7 | supporting |
No product-type differences have been researched yet — the reading below is computed 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 | 1 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 82 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 263 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 277 |
| 26+ | Trace | 192 |
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
Conditional formulation guidance, scoped to a hair condition and to the positions where it is meaningful. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, and not a conclusion about you.
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 this ingredient is evidence of, what it is not evidence of, and what our own method can and cannot tell you.
- hydration rather than oil
- a product that keeps over its shelf life
- a rinse-clean feel
- help on very dry or damaged hair
- an exact safety score — we do not publish one, for any ingredient
- how a finished product performs by itself — that is the whole formula, not one line of it
- the exact percentage in a bottle — label position never converts into a number
- a secondary humectant, listed below the main ingredients in our conditioners
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- that the product would be better without one
- 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
Ingredients that appear alongside this one most often in our library. Near-universal ingredients are excluded — they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Tocopherol · 218
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 216
- Benzyl Alcohol · 195
- Propanediol · 194
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 193
- Cetyl Alcohol · 188
- Disodium EDTA · 175
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 166
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 152
- Citronellol · 149
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to deliver a stated effect, improve feel after rinsing, and carry the formula and let it dry.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
amika · Shampoo
Normcore Signature Shampoo
#2 on the label · $2.93/oz
Acure · Leave-in
Advanced Hydration Leave-In Conditioner
#4 on the label · $3.30/oz
CHI · Shampoo
BioSilk Silk Therapy Shampoo
#4 on the label · $1.69/oz
Honest · Leave-in
Conditioning Sweet Cream Hair Detangler Spray
#4 on the label · $1.87/oz
Honest · Leave-in
Sensitive Conditioning Detangler - Fragrance Free
#4 on the label · $1.75/oz
Lola From Rio · Styler
Meu Cacho Minha Vida Jelly Gel for Curl Definition
#4 on the label · $0.85/oz
American Crew · Shampoo
American Crew Daily Cleansing Shampoo for Men
#5 on the label · $2.32/oz
American Crew · Shampoo
Daily Deep Moisturizing Shampoo
#5 on the label · $2.49/oz
Carol's Daughter · Conditioner
Born To Repair Nourishing Conditioner with Shea Butter
#5 on the label · $1.27/oz
Color Wow · Styler
Xtra Large Bombshell Volumizer - 6.7 oz
#5 on the label · $4.18/oz
Fairy Tales · Conditioner
Rosemary Repel Conditioner
#5 on the label · $1.80/oz
Grande Cosmetics · Styler
GrandeHAIR Full Boost Volumizing Foam
#5 on the label · $4.74/oz
See all 692 products in the library that list Caprylyl Glycol
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Caprylyl Glycol
- CAS 1117-86-8
- PubChem 14231
- preservative
- caprylyl glycol
- caprylyl glycol (coconut-based preservative)
- caprylyl glycol (plant extract)
For your hair?
Whether Caprylyl Glycol matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 2nd most-listed humectant in our libraryWhat 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 is read 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 14231, CAS 1117-86-8, C8H18O2 · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library — 692 of 3928 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are named levels read from an ingredient’s chemical class, charge, solubility, or where it sits on the labels we have — never a score.
- 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; where none is, the row is simply absent rather than filled in.
- This is cosmetic information, not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats a health condition.
- Entry last updated 2026-08-28. Product-page methodology: the product library.