Tonic Lotion Tea Tree Oil Hair Primer

In the US, ingredients above 1% are listed from most to least. Below 1% they can appear in any order. Each note keeps three things apart: what the ingredient generally does, its role in this type of product, and what its position can tell you.

• 1 Water · Water/Aqua/Eau
  General function

  The base of almost every rinse-off and cream hair product. It carries everything else and is normally the first ingredient on the label.

  Leading ingredient

  Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

  • solvent
• 2 Sodium Laureth Sulfate
  General function

  A strong, high-foaming cleanser and the most common shampoo detergent. It removes oil and product efficiently, which can be more than dry or colour-treated hair wants.

  Leading ingredient

  Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

  May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  A sulfate detergent can lift deposited silicone, wax and styling films, which is what resets a routine before build-up is visible.

  May suitFine or easily flattened hair

  Fine hair that goes limp under conditioning films usually reads a full detergent wash as volume returning.

  May not suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coarse and high-porosity hair loses water quickly on its own; an efficient detergent removes the surface oils that were slowing that down.

  Indian Journal of Dermatology
  • sulfate cleanser
  • cleanser
• 3 Cocamidopropyl Betaine
  General function

  A mild coconut-derived co-cleanser that boosts foam and softens the effect of stronger detergents. It appears in most shampoos, gentle or not.

  Leading ingredient

  Listed in the first three ingredients, it is likely a structural part of this formula.

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Mild cleansing leaves more surface lubrication in place on hair that dries out quickly.

  May not suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  The mildest detergents are also the least complete: a routine that deposits films needs something stronger periodically.

  DependsVery dry or highly damaged hair

  Among the mildest detergents in use — it is what baby shampoos are built on — but it is almost always the second detergent in a formula. How much a wash strips is still decided by the primary detergent listed above it.

  Indian Journal of Dermatology
  • amphoteric cleanser
  • secondary cleanser
  • cleanser
• 4 PPG-2 Hydroxyethyl Cocamide
  General function

  A conditioning agent that improves slip and softness in creams.

  Supporting ingredient

  Listed in positions 4–8, it likely makes a meaningful contribution alongside the formula's main ingredients.

  May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

  Deposits a lubricating layer that makes combing easier, which is most of what stops mechanical damage adding to frizz.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  Humectants bind water into the strand, and water — not oil — is what makes dry hair flexible instead of brittle.

  DependsClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

  A humectant follows the air: it holds water in humid conditions and can give it up in very dry ones. Climate decides what it does more than the label does.

  • humectant
  • conditioning agent
• ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
• 5 Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Oil
  General function

  Tea tree essential oil, used in scalp products for its sharp scent and traditional clarifying reputation.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

  Essential oils are fragrance. Several carry constituents on the EU list of declared fragrance allergens, so a label with no fragrance line can still be a scented product.

  • botanical extract
  • essential oil
  • fragrance
• 6 Menthol
  General function

  Produces the cooling, tingling feeling on the scalp. The sensation is real; it is not evidence that anything else is happening.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

  Declared fragrance. On a fragrance-sensitive routine this is the line that decides it, wherever it sits on the label.

  PubChem
  • fragrance
  • active
• 7 Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
  General function

  Peppermint essential oil, used for scent and the cooling feeling on the scalp.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May not suitFragrance-sensitive routines

  Essential oils are fragrance. Several carry constituents on the EU list of declared fragrance allergens, so a label with no fragrance line can still be a scented product.

  • botanical extract
  • essential oil
  • fragrance
• 8 Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract
  General function

  Hops extract, used at low levels in scalp-positioned products.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  • botanical extract
• 9 Lamium Album Flower Extract
  • botanical extract
• 10 Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract
  • botanical extract
• 11 Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract
  • botanical extract
  • antioxidant
• 12 Glycerin
  General function

  Glycerin, also called glycerol, attracts moisture and mixes completely with water.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  High-porosity hair loses water fast; a humectant holds some of it in place for longer than the wash itself would.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  Binds water into the outer layers of the strand, and water is what makes dry hair flexible again rather than brittle.

  DependsClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

  Water moves both ways. Measured across concentrations, glycerin solutions give water up in some conditions and take it from the air in others. What it does for you depends on how much of it is there and on the air around it.

  Scientific Reports
  • humectant
• 13 Cymbopogon Schoenanthus (Lemongrass) Extract
  • botanical extract
• 14 Isoceteth-20
  • emulsifier
  • solubilizer
• 15 PEG-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate
  • thickener
  • emulsifier
• 16 Tetrasodium EDTA
  General function

  Binds the metal ions in hard water so they cannot dull hair or destabilise the formula.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  Binds the calcium and magnesium in hard water, which is what stops mineral deposits accumulating on the strand wash after wash.

  May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair

  Copper and iron carried in tap water deposit on the strand and read as a dull, warm cast on gray or light hair. A chelator holds those metals in solution so the wash carries them off.

  PubChem
  • hard-water chelator
• 17 Trisodium Hedta
  • hard-water chelator
• 18 Sodium Chloride
  • salt
  • thickener
• 19 Citric Acid
  General function

  Used to bring the product to a slightly acidic pH, which helps the cuticle lie flat. It is almost always near the end of the list.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  Holds hard-water minerals in solution so they rinse away instead of depositing on the hair.

  May suitFrizz-prone, damaged, or high-friction hair

  The acid side of pH adjustment, and the reason it matters is measured: alkaline formulas raise the fibre's surface negative charge, increase friction between strands and lift the scales, while lower-pH ones do the reverse.

  May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair

  Where a warm cast comes from water minerals rather than from the hair itself, holding those metals in solution is what removes it.

  International Journal of Trichology
  • pH adjuster
  • hard-water chelator
• 20 Methylchloroisothiazolinone
  • isothiazolinone
  • preservative
• 21 Methylisothiazolinone
  • isothiazolinone
  • preservative
• 22 Chlorphenesin
  • preservative
• 23 Phenoxyethanol
  • preservative
• 24 Caramel
  General function

  A colour added to tint the product itself. It does not colour hair.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair

  A violet or blue colorant sits opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so a trace of it deposited on the surface makes a warm cast read cooler. It washes out over the following few washes.

  • colourant
• 25 Yellow 6 (Ci 15985)
  General function

  A certified colour that tints the product itself. It does not colour hair.

  Estimated lower-concentration zone

  It appears around or below the estimated 1% line, where label order no longer indicates relative amount; its role may be minor or technical.

  May suitGray, silver, or brass-prone hair

  A violet or blue colorant sits opposite yellow on the colour wheel, so a trace of it deposited on the surface makes a warm cast read cooler. It washes out over the following few washes.

  • colourant

What the whole list adds up to

• 7 botanical extracts
• 4 preservatives
• 3 fragrances
• 3 hard-water chelators
• 2 cleansers
• 2 humectants
• 2 essential oils
• 2 emulsifiers
• 2 thickeners
• 2 isothiazolinones
• 2 colourants
• 1 solvent
• 1 sulfate cleanser
• 1 amphoteric cleanser

Ingredient list captured 2026-08-22. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.