WAX
Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
- wax
A castor-derived wax polymer that thickens balms and helps a style hold.
- products in our library
- 61
- of researched products
- 2%
- on the label, in our masks and treatments
- usually #13
- most common in
- Mask / treatment
- in water
- Oil-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.
A solid at room temperature holds hair where it is put.
Waxes scatter light rather than reflecting it.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Grip | High | 5 of 5 |
| Shine | Matte | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Solid at room temperature, so it holds hair where it is put.
Waxes scatter light rather than reflecting it.
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
Needs a surfactant to remove. On a low-detergent routine it can build up over time.
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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Mask / treatment
14 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Leave-in
12 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Conditioner
11 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Shampoo
7 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: oil
5 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Heat protectant
4 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Finisher: end oil
2 products
|
supporting · #4 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
secondary · #19 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #30 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
supporting · #6 |
3 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: hairspray
1 product
|
supporting · #7 | |
Styler: volumizer
1 product
|
secondary · #12 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask / treatment | 14 | 4% | 13 | 4 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 12 | 3% | 15 | 4 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 11 | 2% | 10 | 4 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 7 | 1% | 11 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 5 | 3% | 5 | 4 | supporting |
| Heat protectant | 4 | 3% | 10 | 8 | secondary |
| Finisher: end oil | 2 | 22% | 4 | 3 | supporting |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 19 | 19 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 2% | 30 | 30 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 1 | 1% | 7 | 7 | supporting |
| Styler: volumizer | 1 | 2% | 12 | 12 | 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 | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 24 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 25 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 12 |
| 26+ | Trace | 7 |
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.
Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.
A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
Waxes do not dissolve in water. They need a detergent wash to come off, and they are the classic cause of a coated feel.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients, positions 4–8 or the lower half of the ordered list.Wax is weight with grip attached. On fine hair the grip arrives after the volume has already gone.
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.
- grip, separation and a matte finish
- a style that holds
- a softer feel
- something that lasts through the day
- 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 wax, listed below the main ingredients in our masks and treatments
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- shine — this class finishes matte
- 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.
- Propanediol · 27
- Tocopherol · 27
- Caprylyl Glycol · 26
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 24
- Benzyl Alcohol · 22
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 21
- Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil · 19
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 19
- Butylene Glycol · 17
- Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter · 17
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, deliver a stated effect, and hold on to water.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
AAVRANI · Scalp treatment
Hair & Scalp Recovery Oil
#3 on the label · $20.71/oz
Mielle Organics · Finisher
Rice Water Hair Split End Therapy
#3 on the label · $3.00/oz
Act+Acre · Mask / treatment
Conditioning Hair Mask
#4 on the label · $8.44/oz
Act+Acre · Conditioner
Plant Based Stem Cell Conditioner™
#4 on the label · $4.20/oz
Briogeo · Leave-in
Don't Despair, Repair! Moisture + Damage Defense Leave-In Treatment
#4 on the label · $7.25/oz
Sun Bum · Finisher
Revitalizing Protect & Repair Oil
#4 on the label · $9.99/oz
Curlsmith · Finisher
Bonding Oil
#5 on the label · $15.00/oz
Ouidad · Finisher
Moisture Lock Mongongo Oil
#5 on the label · $12.18/oz
Ouidad · Finisher
Mongongo Oil Multi-Use Curl Treatment
#5 on the label · $22.35/oz
Ouidad · Finisher
Unbreakable Bonds Weightless Bonding Oil
#5 on the label · $19.00/oz
R+Co · Finisher
Bleu Split End Fix Serum
#5 on the label · $29.50/oz
Acure · Finisher
Bonding Hair Serum
#6 on the label · $5.29/oz
See all 61 products in the library that list Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer
- film former
- emollient
- hydrogenated castor oil/sebacic acid copolymer
For your hair?
Whether Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 3rd most-listed wax 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 — 61 of 3889 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.