BOTANICAL EXTRACT
Oleanolic Acid
- botanical extract
A plant triterpene used in scalp and thinning-positioned products at low levels.
- products in our library
- 23
- of researched products
- 0.6%
- on the label, in our leave-ins
- usually #32
- most common in
- Leave-in
- 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 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 — 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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Leave-in
6 products
|
secondary · #32 | |
Mask / treatment
5 products
|
secondary · #53 | |
Shampoo
4 products
|
secondary · #21 | |
Conditioner
2 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #22 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: gel
1 product
|
secondary · #38 | |
Styler: mousse
1 product
|
secondary · #28 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: volumizer
1 product
|
secondary · #17 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leave-in | 6 | 1% | 32 | 8 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 5 | 1% | 53 | 21 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 4 | 0% | 21 | 12 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 2 | 0% | 24 | 21 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 22 | 22 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 1% | 13 | 13 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 1 | 1% | 38 | 38 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 1 | 1% | 28 | 28 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 12 | 12 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 1 | 2% | 17 | 17 | 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 | 0 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 1 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 5 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 10 |
| 26+ | Trace | 19 |
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 this ingredient is evidence of, what it is not evidence of, and what our own method can and cannot tell you.
- 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 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 botanical extract, listed below the main ingredients in our leave-ins
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, 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
Ingredients that appear alongside this one most often in our library. Near-universal ingredients are excluded — they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Apigenin · 23
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil · 23
- Butylene Glycol · 23
- Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1 · 22
- PPG-26-Buteth-26 · 22
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 10
- Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil · 9
- Disodium EDTA · 9
- Benzyl Benzoate · 8
- Benzyl Salicylate · 8
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to keep the formula stable, clean and build foam, 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.
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
Verb · Styler
Medium Hold Sculpting Clay
#12 on the label · $11.00/oz
KilgourMD · Scalp treatment
The Prevention Scalp Serum
#13 on the label
ORS · Shampoo
ORS Olive Oil Braidzone Herbal Cleanse Dry Shampoo for Scalp & Hair Nourishment
#15 on the label · $1.12/oz
Kevin Murphy · Shampoo
STIMULATE-ME.WASH
#16 on the label · $4.38/oz
Taliah Waajid · Scalp treatment
Ditch The Itch Anti-Itch Serum
#16 on the label · $3.50/oz
R+Co · Styler
Dallas Thickening Spray
#17 on the label · $4.00/oz
Taliah Waajid · Scalp treatment
Healthy Hair Under There Bamboo, Avocado And Peppermint Conditioning & Restoring Serum
#18 on the label · $2.50/oz
Color Wow · Mask / treatment
Chris Appleton + Color Wow Money Masque
#21 on the label · $6.00/oz
Kevin Murphy · Conditioner
REPAIR-ME.RINSE
#21 on the label · $5.68/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.
23 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
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 — 23 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.