FATTY ALCOHOL
Octyldodecanol
- fatty alcohol
A liquid fatty alcohol that adds slip and helps oils spread.
- products in our library
- 25
- of researched products
- 0.6%
- on the label, in our masks and treatments
- usually #16
- most common in
- Mask / treatment
- in water
- Oil-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.
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 Octyldodecanol 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 — worth knowing on a low-detergent routine.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
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
9 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Conditioner
6 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Finisher: oil
2 products
|
leading · #3 | |
Leave-in
2 products
|
secondary · #33 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
secondary · #9 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #13 | |
Heat protectant
1 product
|
secondary · #27 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
supporting · #4 | |
Styler: curl cream
1 product
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
secondary · #12 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mask / treatment | 9 | 2% | 16 | 5 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 6 | 1% | 16 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 2 | 1% | 3 | 3 | leading |
| Leave-in | 2 | 0% | 33 | 21 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 9 | 9 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 2% | 13 | 13 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 1 | 1% | 27 | 27 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 1% | 4 | 4 | supporting |
| Styler: curl cream | 1 | 1% | 5 | 5 | supporting |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 12 | 12 | 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 | 2 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 11 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 7 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 5 |
| 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
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.
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 this ingredient is evidence of, what it is not evidence of, and what our own method can and cannot tell you.
- 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 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 fatty alcohol, listed below the main ingredients in our masks and treatments
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, 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
Ingredients that appear alongside this one most often in our library. Near-universal ingredients are excluded — they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Tocopherol · 13
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 13
- Isopropyl Alcohol · 12
- Cetyl Alcohol · 11
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 10
- Arginine · 9
- Butylene Glycol · 9
- Citronellol · 9
- Sodium Hydroxide · 8
- Propylene Glycol · 8
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to deliver a stated effect, 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.
Matrix · Finisher
A Curl Can Dream Lightweight Oil
#3 on the label · $6.14/oz
Mizani · Finisher
Mizani 25 Miracle Nourishing Hair Oil
#3 on the label · $6.19/oz
SheaMoisture · Finisher
Amla Oil Bonding Oil
#4 on the label · $4.85/oz
SheaMoisture · Scalp treatment
Biotin & Multi-Peptide Anti-Hair Fall Treatment Oil
#4 on the label · $21.10/oz
SheaMoisture · Finisher
Coconut & Hibiscus Smooth & Shine Oil
#4 on the label · $3.41/oz
SheaMoisture · Finisher
Manuka Honey & Mafura Oil Ultra Moisture & Nourish Oil
#4 on the label · $3.94/oz
SheaMoisture · Finisher
Manuka Honey & Yogurt Strengthen & Protect Oil
#4 on the label · $3.31/oz
Curlsmith · Styler
Awestruck Definition Cream
#5 on the label · $4.00/oz
Olaplex · Scalp treatment
No.0.5 Scalp Longevity Treatment
#5 on the label · $26.04/oz
Paul Mitchell · Mask / treatment
Bond Rx Treatment
#5 on the label · $5.71/oz
Carol's Daughter · Mask / treatment
Born to Repair 60-Second Moisture Treatment with Shea Butter
#6 on the label · $2.06/oz
Redken · Mask / treatment
All Soft Heavy Cream Moisturizing Hair Mask
#6 on the label · $4.00/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Octyldodecanol
- CAS 5333-42-6
- PubChem 21414
- emollient
- octyldodecanol
For your hair?
Whether Octyldodecanol matters for your hair depends on your hair.
25 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
Sourced Backed by a manufacturer or regulatory source.
This ingredient
- Manufacturer or regulatory PubChem — Compound identity: CID 21414, CAS 5333-42-6, C20H42O · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library — 25 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 2026-08-28. Product-page methodology: the product library.