CLAY
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
- clay
A clay thickener that suspends particles and gives creams their body.
- products in our library
- 22
- of researched products
- 0.3%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #9
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Insoluble
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.
How much oil the solid takes up.
A solid at room temperature holds hair where it is put.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a real cleanser | 5 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Removed mechanically | 1 of 5 |
| Absorbency | High | 5 of 5 |
| Grip | Noticeable | 4 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Magnesium Aluminum Silicate does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Changes the texture in your hand. It says nothing about what reaches your hair.
Takes up oil from hair and scalp and holds it until it is washed out.
Leaves texture behind, which is what makes hair hold a shape.
It dissolves in neither water nor oil, so it is removed by washing or brushing.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Does not dissolve in water or oil. It sits on the surface and is removed mechanically or by cleansing.
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
7 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Conditioner
5 products
|
secondary · #36 | |
Mask / treatment
4 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: paste
2 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Leave-in
1 product
|
secondary · #33 | |
Styler: hairspray
1 product
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
1 product
|
secondary · #70 | |
Styler: texture spray
1 product
|
leading · #2 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 7 | 0% | 9 | 6 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 5 | 0% | 36 | 12 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 4 | 1% | 18 | 9 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 2 | 1% | 16 | 15 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 1 | 0% | 33 | 33 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 1 | 0% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 1 | 1% | 70 | 70 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 1 | 1% | 2 | 2 | leading |
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 | 3 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 4 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 7 |
| 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
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.
Absorbs oil and adds texture, which is what gives fine hair grip at the root instead of slip.
An absorbent solid takes up oil, and hair already short of it has less to give.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients, positions 4–8 or the lower half of the ordered list.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.
- oil absorption and texture
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- a visible surface effect
- body without weight on fine hair
- 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 thickener, 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)
- 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.
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 16
- Tocopherol · 11
- Benzyl Alcohol · 11
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 10
- Xylitol · 9
- Ethyl Linoleate · 8
- Ethyl Oleate · 8
- Trehalose · 8
- Caprylic Acid · 8
- Lactic Acid · 8
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, deliver a stated effect, 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.
REUZEL · Styler
Clay Spray
#2 on the label · $2.94/oz
Equate · Shampoo
Medicated Dandruff Shampoo with Menthol
#6 on the label · $0.44/oz
Selsun Blue · Shampoo
Moisturizing Anti-Dandruff Shampoo
#6 on the label · $1.42/oz
Person & Covey · Shampoo
DHS Zinc Shampoo
#7 on the label · $2.28/oz
Rusk · Mask / treatment
Puremix Activated Charcoal Purifying Mask
#9 on the label · $3.17/oz
up&up · Shampoo
Medicated Menthol Dandruff Shampoo with Selenium Sulfide
#9 on the label · $0.50/oz
Act+Acre · Conditioner
1% Vitamin B-5 Fine Hair Conditioner
#12 on the label · $3.20/oz
Axe · Styler
Styling Messy Look Medium Hold Low Shine Flexible Hair Paste
#15 on the label · $3.03/oz
Aveda · Styler
LIGHT ELEMENTS™ DEFINING WHIP™ creamy hair wax for texture and medium hold
#16 on the label · $13.60/oz
Oribe · Conditioner
Silverati Conditioner
#16 on the label · $7.65/oz
Oribe · Shampoo
Silverati Shampoo
#16 on the label · $5.77/oz
R+Co · Shampoo
DE LUXE REPARATIVE SHAMPOO
#16 on the label · $6.12/oz
See all 22 products in the library that list Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Magnesium Aluminum Silicate
- CAS 1327-43-1
- PubChem 3084116
- thickener
- argilla/magnesium aluminum silicate
- magnesium aluminium silicate
- magnesium aluminum silicate
For your hair?
Whether Magnesium Aluminum Silicate matters for your hair depends on your hair.
22 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
Sourced Backed by a manufacturer or regulatory source.
This ingredient
- Manufacturer or regulatory PubChem : Compound identity: CID 3084116, CAS 1327-43-1, AlMgO4Si+ · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 22 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.
