Cocoa Nibs Honey Ultimate Growth Serum

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 Emblica Officinalis Fruit Extract · Emblica Officinalis (Amla) Fruit Extract
  General function

  An extract from the fruit of Emblica Officinalis. Plant extracts are used across a wide range of levels, and label order is the best guide to how much is here.

  Leading ingredient

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

  • botanical extract
• 2 Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil
  General function

  A medium-weight oil used for conditioning and scalp application.

  Leading ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

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

  A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

  May not suitFine or easily flattened hair

  Near the top of a list an oil is weight before it is anything else, and fine hair shows that first at the roots.

  • oil
  • emollient
• 3 Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil · Virgin Coconut Oil
  General function

  One of the few oils small enough to move into the strand, which is why it is used for pre-wash treatments. It can feel heavy or stiff on protein-sensitive hair.

  Leading ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Because it penetrates rather than sits on top, it works on hair that loses water through a worn cuticle instead of only slowing evaporation from the surface the way a non-penetrating oil does.

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

  A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  The exception to the class read: lauric acid is small and linear enough to enter the shaft rather than only coat it, and in comparison testing coconut oil was the one that reduced protein loss from washing on both undamaged and damaged hair.

  International Journal of Trichology
  • oil
  • emollient
• 4 Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil
  General function

  Not chemically an oil: about 97% of it is liquid wax esters, which is why it resists going rancid and sits close to the scalp's own sebum. It smooths without a heavy finish.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

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

  A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

  May suitMaximum-hold styling

  A wax holds by staying solid on the strand, which gives grip and separation rather than a set film that cracks.

  • emollient
  • light ester
  • oil
  • wax
• 5 Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil · Virgin Olive Oil
  General function

  A heavy, coating oil traditionally used for deep conditioning.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

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

  A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

  May not suitFine or easily flattened hair

  Near the top of a list an oil is weight before it is anything else, and fine hair shows that first at the roots.

  • oil
  • emollient
• 6 Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil · Pressed Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
  General function

  A cushiony oil that absorbs reasonably well, common in smoothing treatments.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coats the surface and slows water leaving the strand, which is usually what coarse hair that dries out fast is missing.

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

  A thin oil layer lowers friction between strands and flattens the raised cuticle that scatters light and catches on its neighbours.

  May not suitFine or easily flattened hair

  Near the top of a list an oil is weight before it is anything else, and fine hair shows that first at the roots.

  • oil
  • emollient
• 7 Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter · Butyrospermum Parkii Butter
  General function

  A rich, solid plant butter used for heavy conditioning on coarse or dry hair. High in the list it makes a product decidedly heavy.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.

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

  Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.

  • butter
  • emollient
  • sealant
• 8 Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter
  General function

  A firm plant butter used for sealing and hold in heavier styling creams.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  May suitDry, coarse, or high-porosity hair

  Coarse, porous hair loses water quickly and can carry the weight; a butter slows that loss more than a thin oil does.

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

  Emollients fill and smooth the surface of the strand, which lowers the friction that lifts the cuticle and reads as roughness.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  A solid fat melts onto the strand at body temperature and stays there, which is the heaviest surface moisture-holding a formula can offer.

  • butter
  • emollient
  • sealant
• 9 Honey · Honey (Mel)
  General function

  A natural sugar-based humectant that holds water against the strand.

  Secondary ingredient

  Lower in the ordered portion of the list, it is more likely playing a supporting role than defining the formula.

  May suitFine or easily flattened hair

  Hydration with no oil attached, so it adds very little weight even high on a list.

  May suitVery dry or highly damaged hair

  Aloe is mostly water carrying sugars that bind more of it, which is why it turns up as the base of moisture-first formulas.

  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
  • botanical extract
• 10 Biotin
  • vitamin
• 11 MSM
• 12 Acacia Concinna (Shikakai) Extract
• 13 Sapindus Laurifolia (Aritha) Fruit Powder
• 14 Bacopa Monnieri (Brahmi) Extract
• 15 Eclipta Alba (Bhringraj) Extract
• ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
• 16 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
• 17 Behentrimonium Methosulfate (Btms)
  • conditioning agent
• 18 Fragrance
  General function

  An undisclosed blend of scent ingredients. Regulations let it stay unlisted, so a fragrance-free product is the only way to be certain what is not in it.

  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.

  • fragrance
  • declared fragrance

What the whole list adds up to

• 7 emollients
• 5 oils
• 3 botanical extracts
• 2 butters
• 2 sealants
• 2 fragrances
• 1 light ester
• 1 wax
• 1 humectant
• 1 vitamin
• 1 essential oil
• 1 conditioning agent
• 1 declared fragrance

Ingredient list captured 2026-09-04. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.