WAX
Trihydroxystearin
- wax
A castor-derived wax used to thicken oils into a gel or balm.
- products in our library
- 5
- of researched products
- 0.1%
- on the label, in our shampoos
- usually #17
- most common in
- Shampoo
- in water
- Oil-soluble
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.
A solid at room temperature holds hair where it is put.
Waxes scatter light rather than reflecting it.
| Property | Level | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Buildup risk | Needs a cleanser | 4 of 5 |
| Rinse-out behaviour | Rinses with a cleanser | 2 of 5 |
| Grip | High | 5 of 5 |
| Shine | Matte | 1 of 5 |
What it does for a formula
What Trihydroxystearin does
The general function first, then how the role changes by product type where we have researched it.
Solid at room temperature, so it holds hair where it is put.
Waxes scatter light rather than reflecting it.
Texture in the hand — it says nothing about what reaches the hair.
It takes a surfactant to remove — worth knowing on a low-detergent routine.
Charge
Charge is not recorded for this ingredient.
Solubility
Needs a surfactant to remove. On a low-detergent routine it can build up over time.
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
3 products
|
secondary · #17 | |
Finisher: oil
1 product
|
secondary · #10 | |
Styler: edge control
1 product
|
supporting · #7 |
| Product type | Products | Share of category | Median position | Earliest position | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shampoo | 3 | 0% | 17 | 15 | secondary |
| Finisher: oil | 1 | 1% | 10 | 10 | secondary |
| Styler: edge control | 1 | 6% | 7 | 7 | 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 | 0 |
| 4-8 | Supporting | 1 |
| 9-15 | Secondary | 2 |
| 16-25 | Lower | 2 |
| 26+ | Trace | 0 |
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 wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.
Waxes do not dissolve in water. They need a detergent wash to come off, and they are the classic cause of a coated feel.
Read where it is listed in the first three ingredients, positions 4–8 or the lower half of the ordered list.Wax is weight with grip attached. On fine hair the grip arrives after the volume has already gone.
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.
- grip, separation and a matte finish
- a thicker, easier-to-spread formula
- something that lasts through the day
- hold that does not drop
- 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 wax, 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
- shine — this class finishes matte
- 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
Ingredients that appear alongside this one most often in our library. Near-universal ingredients are excluded — they pair with everything and tell you nothing.
- Polyquaternium-6 · 3
- Sodium Xylenesulfonate · 3
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate · 3
- Sodium Citrate · 3
- Methylchloroisothiazolinone · 3
- Methylisothiazolinone · 3
- Tetrasodium EDTA · 3
- Cocamidopropyl Betaine · 3
- Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride · 3
- Sodium Chloride · 3
The number beside a name is how many products in our library list both.
These ingredients tend to appear together to improve feel after rinsing, clean and build foam, and keep the formula stable.
Found in these products
The most prominent placements first. The badge is the position on that product’s own ingredient list.
Bondi Boost · Styler
Strawberry Gum Grip Styling Stick
#7 on the label · $52.08/oz
Matrix · Finisher
Food For Soft Multi-Use Hair Oil Serum
#10 on the label · $12.54/oz
Aussie · Shampoo
Miracle Waves Anti-Frizz Hemp Shampoo
#15 on the label · $1.32/oz
Pantene · Shampoo
Pro-V Daily Moisture Renewal Shampoo
#17 on the label · $0.64/oz
Aussie · Shampoo
Aussie Miracle Repairer Shampoo with Aloe
#19 on the label · $0.30/oz
Identity
What this entry is, and what our references call it.
No public-domain structure depiction is available for this entry.
Trihydroxystearin
- thickener
- trihydroxystearin
For your hair?
Whether Trihydroxystearin matters for your hair depends on your hair.
5 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 — 5 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.