THICKENER
PEG-45m
- thickener
A thickener used to give a liquid formula body without adding oil.
- products in our library
- 84
- of researched products
- 1%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #20
- 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.
What the polymer class can do, not what any bottle claims.
How well the film survives damp air, as a class.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Hold | Not a hold ingredient | 1 of 5 |
| Humidity resistance | Not recorded | not recorded |
What it does for a formula
What PEG-45m does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Changes the texture in your hand. It says nothing about what reaches your hair.
Water alone removes it, so it does not accumulate between washes.
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
Rinses out with water alone, so it does not build up 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
55 products
|
secondary · #20 | |
Styler: paste
12 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Conditioner
8 products
|
secondary · #22 | |
Styler: hairspray
3 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Styler: curl cream
2 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: gel
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #27 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
secondary · #18 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 55 | 4% | 20 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 12 | 6% | 18 | 13 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 8 | 1% | 22 | 15 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 3 | 1% | 18 | 17 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 2 | 1% | 15 | 11 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 2 | 1% | 12 | 10 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 27 | 27 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 0% | 18 | 18 | 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 | 0 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 17 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 56 |
| 26+ | Trace | 11 |
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.
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- a rinse-clean feel
- 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 thickener, listed below the main ingredients in our shampoos
- it was on the printed ingredient list of every product we counted (we read labels, not marketing copy)
- anything about what the product does on hair
- 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.
- Disodium EDTA · 49
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine · 48
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 48
- Sodium Chloride · 48
- Carbomer · 43
- Dimethiconol · 41
- Glycol Distearate · 41
- PPG-9 · 36
- TEA-Dodecylbenzenesulfonate · 36
- Sodium Laureth Sulfate · 33
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 improve feel after rinsing.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
John Frieda · Styler
Dream Curls Advanced Hydrating Jelly
#10 on the label · $1.97/oz
Kenra Professional · Styler
Curl Defining Creme 5
#11 on the label · $5.88/oz
Suave · Shampoo
Hyaluronic Infusion Moisturizing Shampoo
#11 on the label · $0.46/oz
Dove · Shampoo
Derma Scalp Oil Control Shampoo with Glycerin, Sulfates and Niacinamide
#12 on the label · $0.63/oz
Nexxus · Shampoo
HydraLight Hydrating Shampoo
#12 on the label · $4.07/oz
18.21 Man Made · Styler
Sweet Tobacco Medium Hold, High Shine Hair Styling Pomade
#13 on the label · $13.00/oz
Paul Mitchell · Styler
Construction Paste Flexible Styling Paste
#13 on the label · $7.20/oz
Paul Mitchell · Styler
MITCH Construction Paste
#13 on the label · $7.20/oz
Kenra Professional · Styler
Platinum Texturizing Taffy 13
#14 on the label · $12.50/oz
REUZEL · Styler
Fiber Hair Gel
#14 on the label · $4.88/oz
Suave · Shampoo
Keratin Infusion Smoothing Shampoo
#14 on the label · $0.27/oz
Dove · Shampoo
Men Care Youthfull Revitalize 2 In 1 Shampoo
#15 on the label · $0.52/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
PEG-45m
- peg-45m
For your hair?
Whether PEG-45m matters for your hair depends on your hair.
84 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: 84 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.
