CONDITIONING AGENT
Polyquaternium-11
- conditioning agent
A styling and conditioning polymer that adds light hold and shine, common in mousses and setting sprays.
- products in our library
- 155
- of researched products
- 4%
- on the label, in our styling mousses
- usually #6
- most common in
- Styler: mousse
- 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 | Stays where hair is damaged | 2 of 5 |
| Adhesion | Clings to damage | 5 of 5 |
| Slip | Moderate | 3 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Polyquaternium-11 does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Positive charge is drawn to the negatively charged, worn patches of a strand.
The measurable part of conditioning: less force to pull a comb through.
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.
Charge
Positively charged, so it is drawn to the negatively charged, damaged areas of hair and stays behind after rinsing. That is why conditioning happens where the wear is.
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 ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: mousse
45 products
|
supporting · #6 | |
Leave-in
28 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: curl cream
16 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Styler: gel
13 products
|
supporting · #5 | |
Shampoo
12 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Styler: volumizer
8 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: serum
5 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Heat protectant
5 products
|
secondary · #18 | |
Conditioner
4 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
4 products
|
secondary · #9 |
11 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: lotion
3 products
|
leading · #2 | |
Finisher: shine spray
2 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: hairspray
2 products
|
supporting · #6 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
secondary · #23 | |
Finisher: end oil
1 product
|
supporting · #7 | |
Mask / treatment
1 product
|
secondary · #16 | |
Scalp treatment
1 product
|
supporting · #6 | |
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #21 | |
Styler: refresh spray
1 product
|
supporting · #8 | |
Styler: texture spray
1 product
|
supporting · #6 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Styler: mousse | 45 | 32% | 6 | 2 | supporting |
| Leave-in | 28 | 6% | 13 | 2 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 16 | 15% | 14 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 13 | 8% | 5 | 2 | supporting |
| Shampoo | 12 | 1% | 17 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 8 | 12% | 11 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 5 | 6% | 7 | 3 | supporting |
| Heat protectant | 5 | 3% | 18 | 8 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 4 | 1% | 11 | 4 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 4 | 7% | 9 | 6 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 3 | 25% | 2 | 2 | leading |
| Finisher: shine spray | 2 | 3% | 13 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 2 | 2% | 6 | 3 | supporting |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 23 | 23 | secondary |
| Finisher: end oil | 1 | 11% | 7 | 7 | supporting |
| Mask / treatment | 1 | 0% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 1 | 1% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 8 | 8 | supporting |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 21 | 21 | secondary |
| Styler: refresh spray | 1 | 8% | 8 | 8 | supporting |
| Styler: texture spray | 1 | 2% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
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 | 26 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 65 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 52 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 34 |
| 26+ | Trace | 12 |
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.
Cationic polymers hold a curl loosely and stay soft, which is why they turn up in definition products rather than firm-hold ones.
A cationic polymer stays on the hair through rinsing, which is what keeps static and combing friction down after the wash.
Film formers are what hold a style: they dry into a connected film across the strands so the shape resists movement.
The class that does the detangling in a conditioner. It deposits lubrication where the cuticle is worn.
Cationic polymers are substantive by design — they are meant to survive rinsing — so repeated use without a detergent wash can leave a coated feel.
Detangling and weight come from the same deposit; how much of each depends on the chain length of the specific conditioner.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients or positions 4–8.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.
- detangling and less breakage from combing
- a style that holds
- a rinse-clean feel
- definition that still moves
- 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 supporting conditioner alongside the main ingredients in our styling mousses
- it was on the label of every product we counted — we read printed ingredient lists, not marketing copy
- it is meant to stay on the hair rather than rinse away
- 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.
- Benzyl Alcohol · 57
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 54
- Caprylyl Glycol · 53
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 51
- Propylene Glycol · 44
- Polysorbate 20 · 40
- Disodium EDTA · 39
- VP/VA Copolymer · 38
- Citronellol · 38
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine · 34
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, improve feel after rinsing, and hold on to water.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
African Pride · Styler
African Pride Moisture Miracle Rose Water & Argan Oil Curl Mousse
#2 on the label · $0.76/oz
Design Essentials · Styler
Almond & Avocado Twist & Set Setting Lotion
#2 on the label · $1.87/oz
Design Essentials · Styler
Compositions Foaming Wrap Lotion
#2 on the label · $1.60/oz
Infusium 23 · Leave-in
Original Leave In Treatment Spray for Strengthening and Repairing Damaged Hair
#2 on the label · $1.38/oz
Kenra Professional · Styler
Volume Mousse Extra 17
#2 on the label · $2.63/oz
Lottabody · Styler
Concentrated Setting Lotion
#2 on the label · $0.31/oz
Mielle · Styler
Brazilian Curly Cocktail Curl Mousse
#2 on the label · $1.87/oz
Oliere Paris · Styler
Hydra Wave Curl-Defining Glaze
#2 on the label · $2.23/oz
Ouidad · Styler
Coil Infusion Good Shape Defining Gel
#2 on the label · $3.53/oz
PATTERN · Styler
Curl Mousse
#2 on the label · $3.13/oz
PATTERN · Styler
Palo Santo Curl Mousse Mini
#2 on the label · $3.50/oz
Paul Mitchell · Styler
Super Clean Sculpting Gel
#2 on the label · $3.21/oz
See all 155 products in the library that list Polyquaternium-11
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Polyquaternium-11
- film former
- polymer
- polyquaternium-11
For your hair?
Whether Polyquaternium-11 matters for your hair depends on your hair.
155 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 — 155 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.