GUM
Cellulose
- gum
Plant fibre used to thicken and give body to a formula.
- products in our library
- 80
- of researched products
- 1%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #17
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Insoluble
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.
What the polymer class can do, not what any bottle claims.
How well the film survives damp air, as a class.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a real cleanser | 5 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Removed mechanically | 1 of 5 |
| Hold | Soft | 3 of 5 |
| Humidity resistance | Low | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Cellulose does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Gives a gel its body and keeps heavier ingredients from sinking.
A plant-derived film that bends rather than cracking.
Changes the texture in your hand. It says nothing about what reaches your hair.
It dissolves in neither water nor oil, so it is removed by washing or brushing.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Does not dissolve in water or oil. It sits on the surface and is removed mechanically or by cleansing.
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
20 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Mask / treatment
15 products
|
secondary · #28 | |
Conditioner
14 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Leave-in
8 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: curl cream
7 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Scalp treatment
4 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Heat protectant
3 products
|
secondary · #23 | |
Dry shampoo
2 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Finisher: serum
2 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: gel
2 products
|
secondary · #32 |
3 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: mousse
1 product
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: texture spray
1 product
|
supporting · #6 | |
Styler: volumizer
1 product
|
secondary · #9 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 20 | 1% | 17 | 3 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 15 | 3% | 28 | 16 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 14 | 1% | 24 | 10 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 8 | 1% | 10 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 7 | 3% | 17 | 11 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 4 | 1% | 22 | 18 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 3 | 1% | 23 | 10 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 2 | 2% | 7 | 3 | supporting |
| Finisher: serum | 2 | 1% | 15 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 2 | 1% | 32 | 20 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 1 | 0% | 11 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 1 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Styler: volumizer | 1 | 1% | 9 | 9 | 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 | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 8 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 19 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 26 |
| 26+ | Trace | 25 |
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.
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.
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.
- a gel texture from a plant-derived thickener
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- a visible surface effect
- definition that still moves
- 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 thickener, 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)
- anything about what the product does on hair
- 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.
- Hydroxyethylcellulose · 43
- Sodium Acetate · 41
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 38
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 37
- Isopropyl Alcohol · 35
- Benzyl Alcohol · 29
- Cetyl Alcohol · 27
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 22
- Propanediol · 21
- Butylene Glycol · 21
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to give the formula body and hold, keep the formula stable, and soften the strand.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Curlsmith · Shampoo
Curl Reset Detox Shampoo
#3 on the label · $3.50/oz
L'Oreal Paris · Dry shampoo
Elvive Collagen Peptide + Lifter Big Fresh Volumizing Dry Shampoo
#3 on the label
Davines · Leave-in
MINU Milk
#5 on the label · $6.51/oz
Method · Shampoo
Moisturizing Shampoo Simply Nourish
#5 on the label · $0.71/oz
Method · Shampoo
repairing shampoo - island mist
#5 on the label · $0.71/oz
Method · Shampoo
smoothing shampoo - serene escape
#5 on the label · $0.71/oz
Davines · Leave-in
SU Hair Milk
#6 on the label · $8.99/oz
R+Co · Styler
PICTURE THIS Dry Texture Balm
#6 on the label · $45.71/oz
Ginger Milk · Shampoo
Intensive Repair Shampoo for Damaged Hair – BE BOLD
#7 on the label · $1.56/oz
Marc Anthony · Leave-in
Strictly Curls Curl Defining Lotion Hair Gel & Heat Protectant
#8 on the label · $1.05/oz
Davines · Leave-in
REPLUMPING Hair Filler Superactive Leave-in
#9 on the label · $18.34/oz
IGK · Styler
Pick Me Up
#9 on the label · $6.40/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Cellulose
- thickener
- cellulose
For your hair?
Whether Cellulose matters for your hair depends on your hair.
80 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
Seed entry, sourcing in progress Written from our reference work; primary sourcing is still being attached.
No published source is attached to this entry yet.
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 80 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.
