FILM FORMER
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
- film former
A cross-linked thickener that gives gels a smooth, bouncy texture and light hold.
- products in our library
- 25
- of researched products
- 0.4%
- on the label, in our scalp treatments
- usually #11
- most common in
- Scalp treatment
- in water
- Water-dispersible
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 | 2 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with shampoo | 4 of 5 |
| Hold | Firmest | 5 of 5 |
| Humidity resistance | Holds up | 4 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
A long-chain molecule that stays behind as the product dries.
The film is what holds a shape once the water has gone.
How firmly depends on the polymer class and how much of it is used.
Changes the texture in your hand. It says nothing about what reaches your hair.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Spreads through water without truly dissolving, and normal shampooing removes it.
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
5 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Shampoo
5 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Finisher: serum
4 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Leave-in
2 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Styler: curl cream
2 products
|
secondary · #25 | |
Styler: gel
2 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Finisher: oil
1 product
|
secondary · #20 | |
Finisher: shine spray
1 product
|
secondary · #24 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
supporting · #5 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
1 product
|
secondary · #38 |
1 more product type
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: volumizer
1 product
|
leading · #2 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scalp treatment | 5 | 2% | 11 | 3 | secondary |
| Shampoo | 5 | 0% | 12 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 4 | 3% | 10 | 5 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 2 | 0% | 15 | 9 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 2 | 1% | 25 | 19 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 2 | 1% | 12 | 3 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 1 | 0% | 20 | 20 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 1 | 1% | 24 | 24 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 5 | 5 | supporting |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 1 | 1% | 38 | 38 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 1 | 1% | 2 | 2 | leading |
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 | 3 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 4 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 9 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 6 |
| 26+ | Trace | 3 |
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
Formulation guidance for specific hair conditions, limited to the label positions where it applies. It is not a conclusion about any finished product, or about you.
A set polymer film is a physical barrier to humidity, so a style keeps its shape longer in damp conditions.
Synthetic film formers dry into a continuous film, which is what holds a shape against movement and against humid air.
Some acrylate copolymers rinse with water and some need a detergent; the label alone does not say which one a formula used.
It sets firm on its own. Whether the curl stays flexible depends on the plasticisers and oils the rest of the formula carries.
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 seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- hold that survives humidity
- a style that holds
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- a product ordinary shampooing removes
- 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 polymer, 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 stiff, crunchy result on its own
- 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.
- Propanediol · 14
- Tocopherol · 12
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 12
- Butylene Glycol · 9
- Benzyl Alcohol · 9
- Disodium EDTA · 8
- Citronellol · 8
- Caprylyl Glycol · 8
- Xanthan Gum · 7
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil · 7
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, deliver a stated effect, 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.
Philip Kingsley · Styler
Maximizer Strand Plumping Cream
#2 on the label · $13.98/oz
Bosley · Scalp treatment
Healthy Hair & Scalp Follicle Energizer
#3 on the label · $32.50/oz
Paul Mitchell · Styler
Tea Tree Lemon Sage Thickening Blowout Gel
#3 on the label · $3.53/oz
Christophe Robin · Shampoo
Purifying Shampoo with Thermal Mud
#5 on the label · $3.96/oz
Christophe Robin · Finisher
Regenerating Serum with Prickly Pear Oil
#5 on the label · $28.91/oz
Oribe · Styler
Matte Waves Texture Lotion
#5 on the label · $12.94/oz
Innersense Organic Beauty · Finisher
Overnight Repair Serum
#7 on the label · $10.50/oz
R+Co · Leave-in
Candy Stripe Protect + Prep Detangling Spray
#9 on the label · $4.00/oz
Aunt Jackie's · Scalp treatment
Dry Clean! No Rinse Scalp Refresh
#10 on the label · $1.58/oz
Selsun Blue · Shampoo
Medicated Maximum Strength Dandruff Shampoo
#10 on the label · $0.73/oz
Christophe Robin · Scalp treatment
Fortifying Scalp Serum with Amaranth Peptides
#11 on the label · $35.29/oz
Act+Acre · Shampoo
Daily Hydro™ Hydrating Shampoo
#12 on the label · $3.80/oz
See all 25 products in the library that list Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
- thickener
- polymer
- polyacrylate crosspolymer-6
For your hair?
Whether Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6 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 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: 25 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.
