PROTEIN
Hydrolyzed Silk
- protein
A light protein used for slip and shine rather than strength.
- products in our library
- 113
- of researched products
- 3%
- on the label, in our leave-ins
- usually #12
- most common in
- Leave-in
- in water
- Water-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.
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 Silk 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 small enough to attach to worn areas of the strand — the protein that works.
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 — 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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Leave-in
22 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Shampoo
21 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Conditioner
17 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Mask / treatment
15 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Heat protectant
7 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: curl cream
6 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: gel
6 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Finisher: shine spray
3 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Scalp treatment
3 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: volumizer
3 products
|
supporting · #8 |
6 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Finisher: serum
2 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: hairspray
2 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: mousse
2 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
2 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #26 | |
Styler: texture spray
1 product
|
secondary · #31 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave-in | 22 | 5% | 12 | 4 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 21 | 3% | 13 | 5 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 17 | 2% | 14 | 7 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 15 | 4% | 12 | 4 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 7 | 5% | 5 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: curl cream | 6 | 6% | 19 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 6 | 4% | 10 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 3 | 5% | 8 | 7 | supporting |
| Scalp treatment | 3 | 2% | 13 | 12 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 3 | 5% | 8 | 6 | supporting |
| Finisher: serum | 2 | 3% | 14 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 2 | 2% | 5 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: mousse | 2 | 1% | 8 | 7 | supporting |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 2 | 4% | 16 | 3 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 26 | 26 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 1 | 2% | 31 | 31 | 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 | 1 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 37 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 51 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 22 |
| 26+ | Trace | 17 |
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.
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 this ingredient is evidence of, what it is not evidence of, and what our own method can and cannot tell you.
- 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 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 protein, listed below the main ingredients in our leave-ins
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- that it repairs hair permanently
- stiffness — only how much of it there is does that
- 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.
- Caprylyl Glycol · 51
- Benzyl Benzoate · 44
- Benzyl Alcohol · 42
- Hexylene Glycol · 38
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 38
- Propylene Glycol · 35
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 35
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 34
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice · 32
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 32
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to hold on to water, give it a scent, and carry the formula and let it dry.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
It's A 10 · Styler
Silk Express Miracle Silk Smoothing Balm
#3 on the label · $4.40/oz
CHI · Heat protectant
44 Iron Guard Style & Stay Firm Hold Protecting Spray
#4 on the label · $2.70/oz
CHI · Styler
44 Iron Guard Style & Stay Firm Hold Protecting Spray - 2.6 oz
#4 on the label · $4.81/oz
CHI · Leave-in
Infra Keratin Mist
#4 on the label · $1.67/oz
CHI · Mask / treatment
Royal Treatment Bond and Repair Treatment Masque
#4 on the label · $3.50/oz
TRESemme · Heat protectant
Protecting Heat Spray Keratin Smooth for Taming Frizz & Reducing Breakage
#4 on the label · $1.00/oz
TRESemme · Heat protectant
Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Protective Spray
#4 on the label · $1.55/oz
Aphogee · Leave-in
Keratin & Green Tea Restructurizer
#5 on the label · $1.17/oz
CHI · Leave-in
BioSilk Color Therapy Lock and Protect
#5 on the label · $2.13/oz
CHI · Shampoo
BioSilk Silk Therapy Shampoo
#5 on the label · $1.69/oz
CHI · Leave-in
Infra Botanical Bliss Silk Infusion
#5 on the label · $5.44/oz
CHI · Styler
Infra Texture Dual Action Hair Spray - 10 oz
#5 on the label · $1.40/oz
See all 113 products in the library that list Hydrolyzed Silk
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Hydrolyzed Silk
- film former
- hydrolysed protein
- hydrolyzed silk
- hydrolyzed silk protein
- serica powder/silk powder
- silk
- silk powder
- silk powder\serica\poudre de soie
For your hair?
Whether Hydrolyzed Silk matters for your hair depends on your hair.
113 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 — 113 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 2026-09-02. Product-page methodology: the product library.