POLYMER
Hydroxypropyl Guar
- polymer
A modified guar gum used to thicken and give a slippery, cushioned feel.
- products in our library
- 123
- of researched products
- 2%
- on the label, in our leave-ins
- usually #8
- most common in
- Leave-in
- 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.
What the polymer class can do, not what any bottle claims.
How well the film survives damp air, as a class.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Hold | Soft | 3 of 5 |
| Humidity resistance | Low | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Hydroxypropyl Guar does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Gives a gel its body and keeps heavier ingredients from sinking.
A plant-derived film that bends rather than cracking.
A long-chain molecule that stays behind as the product dries.
Changes the texture in your hand. It says nothing about what reaches your hair.
Charge
Carries no charge, so it neither clings to hair nor is pushed away by it. Nonionic ingredients are the mild, pH-tolerant workhorses of a formula.
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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Leave-in
25 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Conditioner
21 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Mask / treatment
19 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: curl cream
11 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Heat protectant
10 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: gel
7 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
6 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Scalp treatment
5 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Finisher: serum
4 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Shampoo
4 products
|
secondary · #14 |
6 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: lotion
2 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: mousse
2 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Styler: paste
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
1 product
|
secondary · #22 | |
Styler: volumizer
1 product
|
supporting · #5 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave-in | 25 | 4% | 8 | 4 | supporting |
| Conditioner | 21 | 2% | 12 | 8 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 19 | 3% | 14 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 11 | 5% | 16 | 8 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 10 | 5% | 12 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 7 | 3% | 5 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 6 | 7% | 14 | 5 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 5 | 2% | 7 | 2 | supporting |
| Finisher: serum | 4 | 3% | 11 | 9 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 4 | 0% | 14 | 9 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 1% | 13 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 2 | 6% | 16 | 9 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 2 | 1% | 20 | 12 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 2 | 1% | 12 | 11 | secondary |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 1 | 3% | 22 | 22 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 1 | 1% | 5 | 5 | supporting |
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 | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 27 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 60 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 26 |
| 26+ | Trace | 8 |
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.
Gums thicken and set soft, which gives definition that bends rather than a rigid cast.
A styling polymer dries into a film across the strands, which is what makes a shape hold instead of relax.
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.
- a gel texture from a plant-derived thickener
- a style that holds
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- 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 supporting thickener alongside the main ingredients in our leave-ins
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- anything about what the product does on hair
- 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.
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 67
- Benzyl Alcohol · 55
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 50
- Citronellol · 48
- Isopropyl Alcohol · 43
- Amodimethicone · 40
- Caprylyl Glycol · 39
- Trideceth-6 · 35
- Propylene Glycol · 34
- Geraniol · 33
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to improve feel after rinsing, carry the formula and let it dry, and give it a scent.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Design Essentials · Scalp treatment
Peppermint & Aloe Soothing Scalp Tonic
#2 on the label · $2.75/oz
Ouidad · Styler
Advanced Climate Control® Featherlight Touch-Up Gel Cream
#2 on the label · $5.88/oz
Carol's Daughter · Styler
Coco Crème Curl Shaping Cream Gel with Coconut Oil
#4 on the label · $0.86/oz
Garnier Fructis · Leave-in
Curl Restoring Hair Treat 3 in 1 Leave in Cream
#4 on the label · $1.49/oz
Kinky-Curly · Mask / treatment
Stellar Strands
#4 on the label
Matrix · Styler
A Curl Can Dream Light Hold Gel
#4 on the label · $3.82/oz
Aveda · Styler
brilliant™ retexturing gel for hold and shine
#5 on the label · $6.20/oz
Carol's Daughter · Leave-in
Born To Repair Defining Leave-In Cream with Shea Butter
#5 on the label · $2.06/oz
Garnier Fructis · Leave-in
Whole Blends Honey Water Moisture Leave-In Cream
#5 on the label · $1.96/oz
Kerastase · Leave-in
Curl Manifesto Creme De Jour Fondamentale
#5 on the label · $8.68/oz
Kerastase · Styler
Curl Manifesto Gelée Curl Contour Gel-Cream
#5 on the label · $9.80/oz
L'Oreal Paris · Styler
Elnett Anti-Frizz Slick Back Styling Cream
#5 on the label · $3.14/oz
See all 123 products in the library that list Hydroxypropyl Guar
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Hydroxypropyl Guar
- gum
- thickener
- hydroxpropyl guar
- hydroxypropyl guar
For your hair?
Whether Hydroxypropyl Guar matters for your hair depends on your hair.
123 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 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: 123 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.
