CONDITIONING AGENT
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
- conditioning agent
A conditioning polymer made from guar bean gum. It deposits during rinsing, which is why sulfate shampoos can still leave hair soft.
- products in our library
- 647
- of researched products
- 16%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #16
- 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.
Whether hair pulls it in or pushes it away — read from charge.
How much easier it makes a comb pass.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Stays where hair is damaged | 2 of 5 |
| Adhesion | Clings to damage | 5 of 5 |
| Slip | Some | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Positive charge is drawn to the negatively charged, worn patches of a strand.
The measurable part of conditioning: less force to pull a comb through.
A long-chain molecule that stays behind as the product dries.
Gives a gel its body and keeps heavier ingredients from sinking.
Charge
Positively charged, so it is drawn to the negatively charged, damaged areas of hair and stays behind after rinsing. That is why conditioning happens where the wear is.
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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Shampoo
293 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Conditioner
145 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Mask / treatment
74 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Leave-in
31 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Co-wash
25 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
12 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: gel
10 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Heat protectant
9 products
|
secondary · #25 | |
Styler: curl cream
8 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: mousse
8 products
|
secondary · #19 |
12 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: volumizer
7 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Finisher: serum
6 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Scalp treatment
4 products
|
secondary · #30 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
3 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: oil
2 products
|
secondary · #21 | |
Styler: hairspray
2 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Styler: paste
2 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Styler: texture spray
2 products
|
secondary · #30 | |
Finisher: end oil
1 product
|
secondary · #36 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: lotion
1 product
|
secondary · #13 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 293 | 34% | 16 | 5 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 145 | 20% | 20 | 5 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 74 | 18% | 19 | 3 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 31 | 7% | 19 | 4 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 25 | 25% | 14 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 12 | 21% | 16 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 10 | 6% | 17 | 4 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 9 | 6% | 25 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 8 | 7% | 18 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 8 | 6% | 19 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 7 | 10% | 17 | 8 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 6 | 7% | 17 | 9 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 4 | 2% | 30 | 18 | secondary |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 3 | 13% | 11 | 10 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 2 | 1% | 21 | 13 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 2 | 2% | 24 | 23 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 2 | 2% | 17 | 15 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 2 | 3% | 30 | 27 | secondary |
| Finisher: end oil | 1 | 11% | 36 | 36 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 1% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 10 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 1 | 8% | 13 | 13 | secondary |
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 | 3 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 40 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 284 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 299 |
| 26+ | Trace | 144 |
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.
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.
Cationic conditioners bind to the negatively charged damaged cuticle, laying it flat and cutting the friction that causes combing breakage.
A styling polymer dries into a film across the strands, which is what makes a shape hold instead of relax.
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.
Detangling and weight come from the same deposit; how much of each depends on the chain length of the specific conditioner.
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.
- detangling and less breakage from combing
- a style that holds
- a gel texture from a plant-derived thickener
- a rinse-clean feel
- 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 conditioner, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- it is meant to stay on the hair rather than rinse away
- 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.
- Sodium Chloride · 230
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 222
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine · 214
- Tocopherol · 204
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 198
- Benzyl Alcohol · 196
- Sodium Hydroxide · 194
- Glycol Distearate · 174
- Disodium EDTA · 161
- Caprylyl Glycol · 152
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to keep the formula stable, improve feel after rinsing, and clean and build foam.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Bread Beauty Supply · Co-wash
Hair-Wash Milky Hair Cleanser
#2 on the label · $2.38/oz
African Pride · Leave-in
Feel It Formula Peppermint Rosemary & Sage Strengthening Detangler Hair Cream
#3 on the label · $0.62/oz
African Pride · Mask / treatment
Moisture Miracle Aloe & Coconut Water Detangle & Condition Pre-Shampoo
#3 on the label · $0.83/oz
amika · Styler
Curl Corps Enhancing Gel
#4 on the label · $4.48/oz
CurlyKids · Leave-in
Honey Combout Moisturizing Detangler
#4 on the label · $0.88/oz
Paul Mitchell · Leave-in
Super Skinny Relaxing Balm
#4 on the label · $5.10/oz
Wella · Leave-in
Invigo Nutri-Enrich Wonder Balm
#4 on the label · $4.14/oz
Wella Professionals · Leave-in
Nutricurls Curlixir Defining Balm
#4 on the label · $5.20/oz
African Pride · Conditioner
Moisture Miracle Aloe & Coconut Water Hydrate & Restore Conditioner
#5 on the label · $0.83/oz
amika · Conditioner
Velveteen Dream Smoothing Conditioner
#5 on the label · $2.22/oz
Bread Beauty Supply · Conditioner
baby-soft
#5 on the label
Cantu · Shampoo
Cantu Guava Ginger Anti Dandruff Shampoo
#5 on the label · $0.63/oz
See all 647 products in the library that list Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride
- polymer
- gum
- guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride
- guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride (cationic guar)
For your hair?
Whether Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 4th most-listed conditioning agent 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
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 — 647 of 4008 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one is read from what kind of ingredient it is — its chemical class, its charge, its 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; 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.