SILICONE
Dimethiconol/Silsesquioxane Copolymer
- silicone
A silicone network that leaves a durable, high-shine film.
- products in our library
- 7
- of researched products
- 0.2%
- on the label, in our conditioners
- usually #4
- most common in
- Conditioner
- in water
- Water-dispersible
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 much easier it makes a comb pass.
How much the class is felt on fine hair.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 2 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with shampoo | 4 of 5 |
| Slip | High | 5 of 5 |
| Weight | Noticeable | 4 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Dimethiconol/Silsesquioxane Copolymer does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Fills the gaps between lifted cuticle scales so light reflects evenly.
Lowers the drag a comb feels, which is most of what "detangling" means.
The film is what holds a shape once the water has gone.
How firmly depends on the polymer class and how much of it is used.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Spreads through water without truly dissolving, and normal shampooing removes it.
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
5 products
|
supporting · #4 | |
Mask / treatment
2 products
|
supporting · #5 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditioner | 5 | 1% | 4 | 3 | supporting |
| Mask / treatment | 2 | 1% | 5 | 5 | 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 | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 5 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 0 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 0 |
| 26+ | Trace | 0 |
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.
A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.
Lays a smooth film along the cuticle, which lowers combing friction and flattens the surface irregularities that read as frizz.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
Dimethicone does not disperse in water. On a routine that skips detergent it stays on the hair and accumulates wash after wash.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients, positions 4–8 or the lower half of the ordered list.High on a list, a conditioning film is weight, and fine hair loses root lift to it before it gains much smoothness.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients or positions 4–8.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.
- slip and surface smoothing
- a style that holds
- a product ordinary shampooing removes
- results that hold as the weather changes
- 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 supporting silicone alongside the main ingredients in our conditioners
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- buildup — the water-soluble ones rinse out with ordinary shampoo
- 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.
Why some people avoid it
A conditioning agent that lays a smooth film on the cuticle, which is what delivers slip, shine and frizz control.
The water-insoluble ones need a detergent wash to remove, so on a routine that avoids detergent they accumulate and can leave hair feeling coated. That is the curly-method objection, and it is about buildup rather than harm. Water-soluble silicones rinse out and do not raise it.
Where regulators stand: Permitted. Some cyclic silicones are restricted in the EU on environmental grounds — persistence in waterways — rather than for anything to do with skin.
A formulation preference, not a regulatory finding
Browse products in our library without Dimethiconol/Silsesquioxane Copolymer
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.
- Isohexadecane · 7
- Dipropylene Glycol · 7
- Disodium EDTA · 7
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 7
- Lactic Acid · 6
- Sodium Chloride · 6
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 6
- Sodium Gluconate · 5
- Sodium Citrate · 5
- Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine · 5
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, keep the formula stable, 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.
Dove · Conditioner
Bond Strength Peptide Complex Conditioner
#3 on the label · $0.45/oz
Nexxus · Conditioner
Nexxus Keraphix Conditioner for Damaged Hair
#3 on the label · $0.92/oz
TRESemme · Conditioner
TRESemme Keratin Repair Conditioner for Damaged Hair
#4 on the label · $0.84/oz
Dove · Mask / treatment
Bond Strength with Peptide Complex 10-in-1 Serum Hair Mask
#5 on the label · $2.13/oz
Dove · Mask / treatment
Intensive Repair Advanced Damage Therapy 10-in-1 Serum Hair Mask
#5 on the label · $1.30/oz
Dove · Conditioner
Intensive Repair Hair Conditioner Pump with Glutamic Amino Serum & Bio-Protein Care
#5 on the label · $1.17/oz
Nexxus · Conditioner
Nexxus Amino Bond Repair Conditioner (Bond Repair, Hydrolink Bonder with Amino5 Complex)
#8 on the label · $1.48/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Dimethiconol/Silsesquioxane Copolymer
- film former
- dimethiconol/silsesquioxane copolymer
For your hair?
Whether Dimethiconol/Silsesquioxane Copolymer matters for your hair depends on your hair.
7 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 is read 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 — 7 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.