FATTY ALCOHOL
Myristyl Alcohol
- fatty alcohol
A fatty alcohol used to build texture in creams and add a light smoothing layer.
- products in our library
- 87
- of researched products
- 1%
- on the label, in our masks and treatments
- usually #5
- most common in
- Mask / treatment
- in water
- Oil-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.
Where the class sits between an ester and a butter.
How much it slows water leaving the strand.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Weight | Medium | 3 of 5 |
| Sealing | Moderate | 3 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Myristyl Alcohol does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Nothing like a drying alcohol: a waxy solid that softens and thickens.
Smooths the feel of the strand without adding hold or cleaning.
It takes a surfactant to remove, which matters on a low-detergent routine.
Hair neither pulls it in nor pushes it away.
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
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
27 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Conditioner
25 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Leave-in
12 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: curl cream
5 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
3 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Scalp treatment
2 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Shampoo
2 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: mousse
2 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: volumizer
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
supporting · #6 |
6 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Finisher: anti frizz finish
1 product
|
secondary · #17 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
leading · #3 | |
Heat protectant
1 product
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: gel
1 product
|
secondary · #22 | |
Styler: lotion
1 product
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #11 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask / treatment | 27 | 5% | 5 | 2 | supporting |
| Conditioner | 25 | 2% | 17 | 2 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 12 | 2% | 14 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 5 | 2% | 20 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 3 | 4% | 15 | 5 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 2 | 1% | 15 | 14 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 2 | 0% | 18 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 2 | 1% | 18 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 2 | 1% | 12 | 9 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 1 | 3% | 17 | 17 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 3 | 3 | leading |
| Heat protectant | 1 | 0% | 14 | 14 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 1 | 0% | 22 | 22 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 1 | 3% | 19 | 19 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 11 | 11 | 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 | 21 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 18 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 10 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 21 |
| 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
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.
The waxy solid that gives a conditioner its body. It deposits a soft lubricating layer, which is most of what makes hair feel smooth after rinsing.
Deposits with the cationic conditioners and helps them lie flat along the strand, which is where the detangling actually comes from.
Near the top of a conditioner it is doing most of the conditioning, and most of the weighting, at the same time.
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.
- a rich cream texture
- a softer feel
- something that lasts through the day
- moisture that stays on coarse or porous 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 supporting fatty alcohol alongside the main ingredients in our masks and treatments
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- dryness (it is a waxy solid, not a drying alcohol)
- 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.
- Cetyl Alcohol · 54
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 47
- Stearyl Alcohol · 41
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 41
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 37
- Propylene Glycol · 34
- Isopropyl Alcohol · 33
- Tocopherol · 25
- Caprylyl Glycol · 24
- Butylene Glycol · 23
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, improve feel after rinsing, 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.
amika · Conditioner
Bust Your Brass Cool Blonde Strength Repair Conditioner
#2 on the label · $2.72/oz
amika · Conditioner
The Kure Strength Repair Conditioner
#2 on the label · $3.04/oz
CHI · Mask / treatment
Deep Brilliance Deep Protein Masque
#2 on the label · $1.86/oz
CHI · Mask / treatment
Naturals With Aloe Vera Intensive Hydrating Hair Masque
#2 on the label · $2.52/oz
CHI · Mask / treatment
Rose Hip Oil Color Recovery Treatment
#2 on the label · $3.63/oz
Living Proof · Styler
Curl Definer
#2 on the label · $9.00/oz
Living Proof · Leave-in
Perfect hair Day™ 5-in-1 Styling Treatment
#2 on the label · $9.00/oz
MoKnowsHair · Mask / treatment
ELASTICITY RESTORING TREATMENT
#2 on the label · $3.50/oz
Paul Mitchell · Conditioner
Clean Beauty Everyday Conditioner
#2 on the label · $3.41/oz
Paul Mitchell · Conditioner
Clean Beauty Scalp Therapy Conditioner
#2 on the label · $3.18/oz
Biolage · Conditioner
Hydra Source Conditioning Balm
#3 on the label · $2.22/oz
Davines · Finisher
MELU Serum
#3 on the label · $6.51/oz
See all 87 products in the library that list Myristyl Alcohol
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Myristyl Alcohol
- CAS 112-72-1
- PubChem 8209
- emollient
- myristyl alcohol
For your hair?
Whether Myristyl Alcohol matters for your hair depends on your hair.
87 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 8209, CAS 112-72-1, C14H30O · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library: 87 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.
