HUMECTANT
Caprylyl Glycol
- humectant
A gentle preservative helper that also holds a little moisture.
- products in our library
- 1388
- of researched products
- 20%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #18
- most common in
- Shampoo
- 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.
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, 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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Shampoo
267 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Conditioner
229 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Leave-in
197 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Mask / treatment
135 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Styler: gel
80 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: curl cream
72 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: paste
61 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: mousse
58 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Scalp treatment
57 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Heat protectant
47 products
|
secondary · #14 |
13 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: volumizer
33 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
32 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: hairspray
22 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Co-wash
19 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Styler: lotion
13 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Finisher: serum
12 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: texture spray
12 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
10 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: edge control
8 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: refresh spray
8 products
|
secondary · #21 | |
Finisher: oil
6 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Dry shampoo
5 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Finisher: shine spray
5 products
|
secondary · #22 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 267 | 17% | 18 | 2 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 229 | 20% | 18 | 5 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 197 | 29% | 15 | 4 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 135 | 23% | 20 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 80 | 30% | 13 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 72 | 32% | 18 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 61 | 31% | 15 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 58 | 29% | 14 | 5 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 57 | 20% | 19 | 6 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 47 | 23% | 14 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 33 | 23% | 12 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 32 | 40% | 19 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 22 | 9% | 14 | 8 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 19 | 19% | 17 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 13 | 36% | 14 | 10 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 12 | 9% | 18 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 12 | 12% | 14 | 6 | secondary |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 10 | 31% | 16 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 8 | 21% | 18 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: refresh spray | 8 | 23% | 21 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 6 | 2% | 18 | 7 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 5 | 4% | 12 | 12 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 5 | 5% | 22 | 11 | secondary |
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 | 1 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 122 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 489 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 471 |
| 26+ | Trace | 305 |
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.
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.
- 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, 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 secondary humectant, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, 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
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.
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 499
- Tocopherol · 404
- Benzyl Alcohol · 388
- Propanediol · 366
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 364
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 356
- Cetyl Alcohol · 333
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 316
- Butylene Glycol · 304
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 298
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, deliver a stated effect, 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.
CHI · Shampoo
Magnified Volume Shampoo
#2 on the label · $1.75/oz
Acure · Leave-in
Advanced Hydration Leave-In Conditioner
#4 on the label · $3.30/oz
BioSilk · Heat protectant
Silk Therapy Gold Thermal and Anti-Humidity Shield
#4 on the label · $4.43/oz
CHI · Shampoo
BioSilk Silk Therapy Shampoo
#4 on the label · $1.69/oz
CHI · Styler
Infra Maximum Control Gel
#4 on the label · $2.63/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 · $1.81/oz
Lola From Rio · Styler
Meu Cacho Minha Vida Jelly Gel for Curl Definition
#4 on the label · $0.85/oz
Rene Furterer · Shampoo
VOLUMEA Volumizing Shampoo
#4 on the label · $5.37/oz
Taliah Waajid · Shampoo
Refresh And So Clean™ Bamboo, Avocado And Peppermint Dry Gel Shampoo.
#4 on the label · $2.00/oz
American Crew · Shampoo
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
See all 1388 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 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 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: 1388 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.
