BOTANICAL EXTRACT
Oleanolic Acid
- botanical extract
A plant triterpene used in scalp and thinning-positioned products at low levels.
- products in our library
- 63
- of researched products
- 0.9%
- on the label, in our scalp treatments
- usually #16
- most common in
- Scalp 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 it sits on the labels we have, in the category it appears in most.
A juice or water carries some; a dried extract carries little.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Prominence | Secondary | 2 of 5 |
| Water-binding | Minimal | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Oleanolic Acid does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
What it contributes depends entirely on how much of it is in the bottle.
Most botanicals sit below the 1% line, where label order stops indicating amount.
It takes a surfactant to remove, which matters 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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Scalp treatment
13 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Shampoo
11 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Leave-in
9 products
|
secondary · #45 | |
Conditioner
6 products
|
secondary · #37 | |
Mask / treatment
6 products
|
secondary · #54 | |
Finisher: oil
3 products
|
secondary · #29 | |
Styler: gel
3 products
|
secondary · #38 | |
Dry shampoo
2 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: edge control
2 products
|
secondary · #27 | |
Styler: volumizer
2 products
|
secondary · #17 |
6 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #39 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: curl cream
1 product
|
secondary · #33 | |
Styler: lotion
1 product
|
secondary · #54 | |
Styler: mousse
1 product
|
secondary · #28 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #12 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scalp treatment | 13 | 4% | 16 | 6 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 11 | 1% | 22 | 12 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 9 | 1% | 45 | 8 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 6 | 1% | 37 | 20 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 6 | 1% | 54 | 21 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 3 | 1% | 29 | 20 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 3 | 1% | 38 | 27 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 2 | 2% | 14 | 13 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 2 | 5% | 27 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 2 | 1% | 17 | 17 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 39 | 39 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 19 | 19 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 1 | 0% | 33 | 33 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 1 | 3% | 54 | 54 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 1 | 0% | 28 | 28 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 12 | 12 | 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 | 0 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 3 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 8 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 18 |
| 26+ | Trace | 34 |
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.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- plant-derived ingredients on the label
- something that lasts through the day
- 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 botanical extract, listed below the main ingredients in our scalp treatments
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- a meaningful amount of the plant
- a meaningful amount of the plant (most sit below the 1% line)
- 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.
- Butylene Glycol · 63
- Apigenin · 62
- PPG-26-Buteth-26 · 61
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil · 57
- Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1 · 55
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 38
- Biotin · 27
- Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil · 24
- Caprylyl Glycol · 23
- Disodium EDTA · 21
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to carry the formula and let it dry, keep the formula stable, and clean and build foam.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Better Not Younger · Scalp treatment
Superpower+ Advanced Hair Densifying Scalp Serum
#6 on the label · $28.50/oz
Better Not Younger · Scalp treatment
Superpower Fortifying Hair & Scalp Serum
#8 on the label · $26.50/oz
Not Your Mother's · Leave-in
Way To Grow Leave-In Conditioner
#8 on the label · $1.46/oz
Moroccanoil · Scalp treatment
Oily Scalp Treatment
#10 on the label · $28.00/oz
Kevin Murphy · Shampoo
PLUMPING.WASH
#12 on the label · $5.33/oz
Kevin Murphy · Scalp treatment
THICK.AGAIN
#12 on the label · $15.57/oz
Verb · Styler
Medium Hold Sculpting Clay
#12 on the label · $11.00/oz
Drybar · Dry shampoo
Detox Thickening Dry Shampoo
#13 on the label · $8.57/oz
KilgourMD · Scalp treatment
The Prevention Scalp Serum
#13 on the label
JVN · Dry shampoo
Perfèct The Essential Dry Shampoo
#14 on the label · $4.04/oz
ORS · Shampoo
Olive Oil Braidzone Herbal Cleanse Dry Shampoo for Scalp & Hair Nourishment
#15 on the label · $1.12/oz
Ginger Milk · Shampoo
Shampoo with Ginger Extract For Oily-Prone Hair – BE HONEST
#16 on the label · $1.88/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Oleanolic Acid
- oleanolic acid
For your hair?
Whether Oleanolic Acid matters for your hair depends on your hair.
63 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: 63 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.
