MINERAL
Silica
- mineral
A fine mineral powder that absorbs oil and adds grip. It is what makes texture powders and matte pastes feel dry to the touch.
- products in our library
- 78
- of researched products
- 2%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #24
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Insoluble
At a glance
Four named levels, read from this ingredient’s chemical class, its charge, its solubility, or where it sits on the labels we have. More dots means more of the property named — never “better”.
How much of it is left on hair between washes.
What it takes to get it off the hair again.
How much oil the solid takes up.
A solid at room temperature holds hair where it is put.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a real cleanser | 5 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Removed mechanically | 1 of 5 |
| Absorbency | High | 5 of 5 |
| Grip | Noticeable | 4 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Silica does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Texture in the hand — it says nothing about what reaches the hair.
A dry solid that soaks up oil and leaves a matte, textured feel.
A solid particle: it changes how a formula looks and feels, not what it cleans.
It dissolves in neither water nor oil, so it is removed by washing or brushing.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Does not dissolve in water or oil. It sits on the surface and is removed mechanically or by cleansing.
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
12 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Conditioner
11 products
|
secondary · #31 | |
Scalp treatment
10 products
|
secondary · #28 | |
Styler: paste
10 products
|
secondary · #10 | |
Mask / treatment
6 products
|
secondary · #30 | |
Heat protectant
4 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Leave-in
4 products
|
secondary · #24 | |
Styler: texture spray
4 products
|
secondary · #11 | |
Finisher: shine spray
3 products
|
secondary · #16 | |
Styler: smoothing cream
3 products
|
supporting · #7 |
8 more product types
| Product type | How common | Typical position on label ? |
|---|---|---|
Styler: volumizer
3 products
|
supporting · #7 | |
Styler: hairspray
2 products
|
secondary · #15 | |
Dry shampoo
1 product
|
supporting · #6 | |
Finisher: oil
1 product
|
secondary · #29 | |
Styler: curl cream
1 product
|
secondary · #32 | |
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
secondary · #31 | |
Styler: gel
1 product
|
secondary · #42 | |
Styler: mousse
1 product
|
secondary · #28 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 12 | 1% | 24 | 3 | secondary |
| Conditioner | 11 | 2% | 31 | 15 | secondary |
| Scalp treatment | 10 | 6% | 28 | 20 | secondary |
| Styler: paste | 10 | 11% | 10 | 7 | secondary |
| Mask / treatment | 6 | 2% | 30 | 14 | secondary |
| Heat protectant | 4 | 3% | 15 | 9 | secondary |
| Leave-in | 4 | 1% | 24 | 20 | secondary |
| Styler: texture spray | 4 | 7% | 11 | 5 | secondary |
| Finisher: shine spray | 3 | 5% | 16 | 8 | secondary |
| Styler: smoothing cream | 3 | 5% | 7 | 5 | supporting |
| Styler: volumizer | 3 | 5% | 7 | 2 | supporting |
| Styler: hairspray | 2 | 2% | 15 | 13 | secondary |
| Dry shampoo | 1 | 33% | 6 | 6 | supporting |
| Finisher: oil | 1 | 1% | 29 | 29 | secondary |
| Styler: curl cream | 1 | 1% | 32 | 32 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 31 | 31 | secondary |
| Styler: gel | 1 | 1% | 42 | 42 | secondary |
| Styler: mousse | 1 | 1% | 28 | 28 | 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 | 3 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 12 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 14 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 26 |
| 26+ | Trace | 41 |
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.
A dry powder takes up oil and adds friction between strands, which is most of what root lift in fine hair actually is.
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.
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- oil absorption
- body and opacity
- a visible surface effect
- 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 thickener, 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
- anything about what the product does on hair
- a treatment effect — it changes how the formula looks and feels
- 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.
- Tocopheryl Acetate · 24
- BHT · 22
- Propylene Glycol · 21
- Hexyl Cinnamal · 20
- Benzyl Alcohol · 19
- Titanium Dioxide · 17
- Benzyl Benzoate · 17
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 17
- Citronellol · 17
- Caprylyl Glycol · 17
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to deliver a stated effect, keep the formula stable, 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.
18.21 Man Made · Styler
Sweet Tobacco Hair Styling Powder
#2 on the label · $85.71/oz
Nizoral · Scalp treatment
Pre-Shampoo Scalp Build-Up Remover
#3 on the label · $2.40/oz
Verb · Shampoo
Verb Dry Shampoo Powder
#3 on the label · $11.00/oz
Cantu · Scalp treatment
Guava & Ginger Scalp Exfoliating Pre-Poo Treatment
#5 on the label · $1.28/oz
Joico · Styler
Hair Shake Liquid-to-Powder Texturizing Finisher
#5 on the label · $4.90/oz
Oribe · Styler
Imperial Blowout Transformative Styling Creme
#5 on the label · $13.80/oz
Nioxin · Dry shampoo
Volumizing Dry Shampoo
#6 on the label · $5.24/oz
R+Co · Styler
BALLOON Dry Volume Spray
#7 on the label · $7.20/oz
REUZEL · Styler
Green Grease Pomade Oil-Based Medium Hold
#7 on the label · $5.46/oz
REUZEL · Styler
Pink Grease Pomade Oil-Based Strong Hold
#7 on the label · $5.90/oz
REUZEL · Styler
Rosemary Mint Hydrating Styling Cream
#7 on the label · $4.72/oz
Sebastian · Styler
Craft Clay Texturizing & Flexible Styling Clay
#7 on the label · $13.53/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
Silica
- CAS 7631-86-9
- PubChem 24261
- powder
- thickener
- hydrated silica
- silica
For your hair?
Whether Silica matters for your hair depends on your hair.
the 1st most-listed mineral, clay or powder 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 24261, CAS 7631-86-9, O2Si · accessed 2026-08-28
How this page was made
- Every number above is counted from the ingredient lists in our own product library — 78 of 3889 researched products list this ingredient. Nothing on this page is written per ingredient.
- The dots are named levels read from an ingredient’s chemical class, charge, solubility, or where it sits on the labels we have — never a score.
- 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.