Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair 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 Cyclopentasiloxane
  General function

  A light, fast-evaporating silicone that spreads other ingredients then leaves. It gives serums their weightless glide.

  Leading ingredient

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

  May suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  It leaves the hair by evaporating rather than by being washed off, so it is not part of what accumulates.

  May suitClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

  A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.

  May suitFine or easily flattened hair

  A cyclic silicone evaporates after it has spread the formula, so it carries the other ingredients without leaving weight behind.

  PubChem
  • silicone
  • emollient
• 2 Dimethicone
  General function

  The most common conditioning silicone. It coats the strand for shine, slip, and frizz control, and needs a detergent (not just water) to wash out.

  Leading ingredient

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

  May suitClimate-sensitive or frizz-prone hair

  A surface film slows how quickly humidity reaches the cortex, which is what limits swelling-driven frizz in damp air.

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

  Lays a smooth film along the cuticle, which lowers combing friction and flattens the surface irregularities that read as frizz.

  May not suitBuild-up-sensitive routines

  Dimethicone does not disperse in water. On a routine that skips detergent it stays on the hair and accumulates wash after wash.

  • silicone
  • emollient
  • conditioning agent
• 3 Cocos Nucifera (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 Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) 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
• 5 Glycerin
  General function

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

  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

  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
• 6 Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Fruit Extract
  General function

  An extract from the fruit of Blackberry (Rubus Fruticosus). Plant extracts are used across a wide range of levels, and label order is the best guide to how much is here.

  Supporting ingredient

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

  • botanical extract
• ▾Below about here, the order stops meaning much. These are usually used at 1% or less.
• 7 Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract
  General function

  Acai extract, used at low levels for antioxidants and label appeal.

  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
  • antioxidant
• 8 Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract
  General function

  A sunflower seed extract used at low levels for antioxidants and label appeal.

  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
  • antioxidant
• 9 Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Fruit Extract
  • botanical extract
• 10 MORUS NIGRA (BLACK MULBERRY) EXTRACT
• 11 Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract
  • botanical extract
• 12 Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil · ARGANIA SPINOSA (ARGAN) KERNEL OIL
  General function

  Argan oil. A medium-weight oil used for shine and softness on the outside of the strand.

  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

  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.

  • oil
  • emollient
• 13 Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E)
  • antioxidant
  • vitamin
• 14 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

• 5 emollients
• 5 botanical extracts
• 3 antioxidants
• 2 silicones
• 2 oils
• 1 conditioning agent
• 1 butter
• 1 sealant
• 1 humectant
• 1 vitamin
• 1 fragrance
• 1 declared fragrance

Ingredient list captured 2026-10-03. Formulas change, so check the package in your hand when an ingredient matters to you.