PROTEIN
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
- protein
A light plant protein that adds body and shine, popular in volume products.
- products in our library
- 292
- of researched products
- 4%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #15
- 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.
Smaller fragments travel further into the strand.
Read from where it sits on the labels we have, not from the molecule.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Fragment size | Small | 2 of 5 |
| Stiffening potential | Slight | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Hydrolyzed Rice Protein does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Sticks to damaged areas of the surface and temporarily firms them.
Welcome on limp or damaged hair, unwelcome on hair that already feels rigid.
Fragments that attach to worn areas of the strand, where protein does its work.
The film is what holds a shape once the water has gone.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
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
70 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Conditioner
67 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Leave-in
30 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Mask / treatment
27 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: volumizer
16 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Heat protectant
15 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: curl cream
10 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: gel
9 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: mousse
9 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Co-wash
8 products
|
secondary · #28 |
8 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Scalp treatment
8 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Dry shampoo
7 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: texture spray
5 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Finisher: serum
3 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
supporting · #6 | |
Finisher: shine spray
2 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
2 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #15 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 70 | 4% | 15 | 6 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 67 | 6% | 16 | 5 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 30 | 4% | 12 | 6 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 27 | 5% | 14 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 16 | 11% | 12 | 5 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 15 | 7% | 19 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 10 | 4% | 18 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 9 | 3% | 10 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 9 | 4% | 7 | 5 | supporting |
| Co-wash | 8 | 8% | 28 | 9 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 8 | 3% | 20 | 5 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 7 | 5% | 12 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 5 | 5% | 10 | 7 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 3 | 2% | 7 | 5 | supporting |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Finisher: shine spray | 2 | 2% | 18 | 17 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 2 | 2% | 14 | 13 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 15 | 15 | 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 | 60 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 105 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 92 |
| 26+ | Trace | 34 |
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.
Filling surface gaps evens out the cuticle, which is part of what makes damaged hair comb and reflect light more like undamaged hair.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
Hydrolysed fragments are small enough to sit in the gaps of a worn cuticle for a wash or two, temporarily restoring stiffness and cutting breakage in combing.
How rigid the finish is depends on which polymer it is and what the formula pairs with it, not on there being one.
Hair that reliably stiffens after protein reacts to a prominent hydrolysed protein first; near the top of a list is where it is most likely to be felt.
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 seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- temporary strength on damaged hair
- a protein that binds to damaged hair
- a style that holds
- a rinse-clean feel
- 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 protein, 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 it repairs hair permanently
- stiffness (that depends on how much of it there is)
- 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.
- Benzyl Alcohol · 131
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 119
- Tocopherol · 106
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 97
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 96
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 89
- Propanediol · 88
- Caprylyl Glycol · 80
- Cetyl Alcohol · 65
- Butylene Glycol · 64
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, soften the strand, and deliver a stated effect.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Aveda · Styler
Abundant Blowout All-Over Volumizing Spray
#5 on the label · $14.00/oz
Bumble and bumble · Styler
Thickening High Drama Styling Hair Foam for Thinning Hair - 5.0 oz
#5 on the label · $7.00/oz
CHI · Styler
Vibes Bodied Volumizing Foam
#5 on the label · $3.14/oz
Mane 'n Tail · Conditioner
Repair ‘n Strengthen Conditioner
#5 on the label · $6.50/oz
OGX · Scalp treatment
ProGrowth + Peptide Hair Strengthening Scalp Serum
#5 on the label · $31.79/oz
UNITE Hair · Finisher
7SECONDS Detangler
#5 on the label · $6.16/oz
CÉCRED · Mask / treatment
Reconstructing Treatment Mask
#6 on the label · $4.40/oz
CHI · Styler
Royal Treatment Volume Booster
#6 on the label · $2.87/oz
Color Wow · Leave-in
Money Mist Leave-in Conditioner
#6 on the label · $7.38/oz
Ginger Milk · Leave-in
Intensive Leave-In Repair Treatment for Damaged Hair – BE BOLD
#6 on the label · $2.35/oz
Innersense Organic Beauty · Styler
I Create Finish Non-Aerosol Hairspray - Lavender
#6 on the label · $2.80/oz
See all 292 products in the library that list Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
- film former
- hydrolysed protein
- hydrolyzed rice bran protein
- hydrolyzed rice protein
For your hair?
Whether Hydrolyzed Rice Protein matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 2nd most-listed protein or amino acid 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
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: 292 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.
