CONDITIONING AGENT
Panthenol
- conditioning agent
Provitamin B5. It draws in water and penetrates the strand a little, which is why it is the standard ingredient for softness and shine claims.
- products in our library
- 1202
- of researched products
- 30%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #13
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Water-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.
Whether hair pulls it in or pushes it away — read from charge.
How much easier it makes a comb pass.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Adhesion | Low | 2 of 5 |
| Slip | Some | 2 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Panthenol does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Included for feel and detangling rather than for cleaning or structure.
Binds water and holds it against the hair rather than adding oil.
What a humectant does depends on the air around it as much as on the formula.
Usually present in small amounts, below where label order indicates quantity.
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
Rinses out with water alone — it does not accumulate on hair between washes.
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
275 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Conditioner
257 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Leave-in
167 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Mask / treatment
123 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: mousse
55 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Co-wash
50 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Heat protectant
48 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: gel
35 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: curl cream
34 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: hairspray
28 products
|
supporting · #8 |
13 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: volumizer
26 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Scalp treatment
20 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Styler: texture spray
17 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Finisher: shine spray
16 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Finisher: serum
15 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
11 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Finisher: oil
9 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: paste
6 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: edge control
4 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
3 products
|
secondary · #19 | |
Styler: lotion
3 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: refresh spray
3 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Finisher: end oil
2 products
|
secondary · #13 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 275 | 32% | 13 | 5 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 257 | 36% | 15 | 4 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 167 | 38% | 12 | 3 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 123 | 31% | 14 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 55 | 39% | 10 | 3 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 50 | 51% | 15 | 6 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 48 | 33% | 13 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 35 | 22% | 11 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 34 | 32% | 13 | 5 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 28 | 27% | 8 | 3 | supporting |
| Styler: volumizer | 26 | 38% | 10 | 3 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 20 | 12% | 12 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 17 | 29% | 10 | 7 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 16 | 24% | 9 | 6 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 15 | 19% | 9 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 11 | 20% | 20 | 4 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 9 | 5% | 10 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 6 | 7% | 11 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 4 | 25% | 14 | 13 | secondary |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 3 | 13% | 19 | 14 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 3 | 25% | 13 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: refresh spray | 3 | 23% | 7 | 3 | supporting |
| Finisher: end oil | 2 | 22% | 13 | 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 | 15 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 301 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 654 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 381 |
| 26+ | Trace | 93 |
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.
It hydrates without adding oil or a film, which is the combination fine hair usually needs.
Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.
A humectant that also penetrates the cuticle, so it holds water inside the strand rather than only on the surface.
A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.
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.
- easier combing
- hydration rather than oil
- a named vitamin on the label
- a rinse-clean feel
- 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 conditioning agent, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- 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.
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 385
- Behentrimonium Chloride · 383
- Benzyl Alcohol · 349
- Cetyl Alcohol · 339
- Tocopherol · 330
- Caprylyl Glycol · 324
- Disodium EDTA · 321
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 303
- Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter · 255
- Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice · 255
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to improve feel after rinsing, carry the formula and let it dry, and soften the strand.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Curl Keeper · Heat protectant
Heat Shield Curl Protector
#2 on the label · $2.67/oz
Curl Keeper · Leave-in
Moisture Boost - Leave In Conditioner
#2 on the label · $2.67/oz
Pacifica · Finisher
Turmeric Guava Thick and Smooth Hair Food Serum
#2 on the label · $16.00/oz
Alterna · Styler
Caviar Anti-Aging Multiplying Volume Styling Mist - 5.0 oz
#3 on the label · $6.00/oz
Andalou Naturals · Scalp treatment
Argan Stem Cell Age Defying Scalp Intensive
#3 on the label · $7.14/oz
Aphogee · Leave-in
Curlific! Moisture Rich Leave-in
#3 on the label · $1.08/oz
Aussie · Styler
Miracle Waves Frizz-Fighting Spray
#3 on the label · $1.23/oz
Bumble and bumble · Styler
Seaweed Oil Control Styling Primer - 6.7 oz
#3 on the label · $5.37/oz
FRAGFRE · Heat protectant
Hair Detangler
#3 on the label · $2.50/oz
Herbal Essences · Leave-in
Conditioning Hair Detangling Spray with Frizz Control (Smooth Rose Hips)
#3 on the label · $0.86/oz
Mizani · Scalp treatment
Scalp Care Soothing Serum
#3 on the label · $3.29/oz
NatureLab. Tokyo · Styler
Perfect Volume Thickening & Conditioning Hair Masque
#3 on the label · $2.98/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Panthenol
- CAS 16485-10-2
- PubChem 4678
- humectant
- vitamin
- d-panthenol
- dl panthenol
- dl panthenol (provitamin b5)
- dl-panthenol
- panthenol
- panthenol (pro vitamin b5)
- panthenol (pro-vitamin b5)
- panthenol (provitamin b5)
- panthenol (vitamin b-5)
- panthenol (vitamin b)
- panthenol (vitamin b5)
- panthenol provitamin b5
- panthenol^
- pro vitamin b5
- provitamin b5
For your hair?
Whether Panthenol matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 1st most-listed conditioning agent in our libraryWhat 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 4678, CAS 16485-10-2, C9H19NO4 · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library — 1202 of 4008 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are levels, not scores. Each one is read from what kind of ingredient it is — its chemical class, its charge, its 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; 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.