EMULSIFIER
Polysorbate 80
- emulsifier
A solubiliser that dissolves fragrance and oils into water so the product stays clear.
- products in our library
- 85
- of researched products
- 1%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #12
- 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.
How much oil it strips, as a class.
The foam the class is known for, not a measured volume.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Low | 1 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses clean | 5 of 5 |
| Cleansing strength | Not a cleanser | 1 of 5 |
| Lather | Little | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Polysorbate 80 does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Without one, a cream separates in the bottle.
How a clear liquid can carry an oil or a fragrance without going cloudy.
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
21 products
|
secondary · #12 | |
Scalp treatment
12 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Leave-in
11 products
|
secondary · #13 | |
Styler: mousse
8 products
|
secondary · #14 | |
Heat protectant
5 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Styler: gel
5 products
|
secondary · #9 | |
Styler: volumizer
4 products
|
supporting · #8 | |
Conditioner
3 products
|
secondary · #29 | |
Mask / treatment
3 products
|
leading · #3 | |
Styler: refresh spray
3 products
|
secondary · #12 |
8 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: hairspray
2 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
2 products
|
secondary · #31 | |
Co-wash
1 product
|
supporting · #5 | |
Finisher: anti frizz finish
1 product
|
secondary · #39 | |
Finisher: serum
1 product
|
secondary · #20 | |
Styler: curl cream
1 product
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: lotion
1 product
|
secondary · #17 | |
Styler: paste
1 product
|
secondary · #14 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 21 | 1% | 12 | 4 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 12 | 4% | 8 | 2 | supporting |
| Leave-in | 11 | 2% | 13 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 8 | 4% | 14 | 10 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 5 | 2% | 7 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: gel | 5 | 2% | 9 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: volumizer | 4 | 3% | 8 | 3 | supporting |
| Conditioner | 3 | 0% | 29 | 9 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 3 | 1% | 3 | 2 | leading |
| Styler: refresh spray | 3 | 9% | 12 | 3 | secondary |
| Styler: hairspray | 2 | 1% | 11 | 7 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 2 | 2% | 31 | 13 | secondary |
| Co-wash | 1 | 1% | 5 | 5 | supporting |
| Finisher: anti frizz finish | 1 | 3% | 39 | 39 | secondary |
| Finisher: serum | 1 | 1% | 20 | 20 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 1 | 0% | 16 | 16 | secondary |
| Styler: lotion | 1 | 3% | 17 | 17 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 1 | 1% | 14 | 14 | 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 | 8 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 17 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 33 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 15 |
| 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.
Why it matters to shoppers
What seeing this ingredient tells you, what it does not, and the limits of our own method.
- a stable cream that does not separate
- a clear formula that still carries oils
- 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 emulsifier, 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)
- 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.
- Ethylhexylglycerin · 33
- PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil · 25
- Benzyl Alcohol · 25
- Propylene Glycol · 22
- Tocopherol · 21
- Caprylyl Glycol · 20
- Cetrimonium Chloride · 18
- Propanediol · 17
- Butylene Glycol · 16
- Polysorbate 20 · 15
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to soften the strand, 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.
Bumble and bumble · Mask / treatment
Bond-Building TripleBond Flash Rinse for Damaged Hair
#2 on the label · $5.35/oz
CÉCRED · Scalp treatment
Scalp Refreshing Spray
#2 on the label · $4.75/oz
OGX · Heat protectant
Bond Protein Repair Heat Protect Multi-Tasker Spray
#2 on the label · $1.83/oz
OGX · Heat protectant
Repair & Protect Bond Protein Repair 450F Heat Protectant Spray
#2 on the label · $1.61/oz
Hairstory · Styler
Root Lift
#3 on the label · $4.04/oz
ORS · Styler
Curlshow Curl Creator Defining Jelly
#3 on the label · $0.83/oz
Palmer's · Styler
Coconut Oil Curl Refresher
#3 on the label · $0.89/oz
R+Co · Mask / treatment
ANTI-POLLUTION Detox Rinse
#3 on the label · $5.67/oz
Curls · Shampoo
Sea Moss Powerhouse Shampoo
#4 on the label · $1.87/oz
Equate · Scalp treatment
Scalp Care Sulfate Free Therapy Hair Serum with Charcoal & Tea Tree
#4 on the label · $2.74/oz
Marc Anthony · Scalp treatment
Nourishing Hemp Oil Instant Cooling Scalp Treatment
#4 on the label · $6.13/oz
Miss Jessie's · Co-wash
Co-Wash for Natural Hair - Natural Hair Cleanser
#5 on the label · $1.75/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Polysorbate 80
- solubilizer
- polysorbate 80
For your hair?
Whether Polysorbate 80 matters for your hair depends on your hair.
85 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: 85 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.
