Choosing hair products can feel overwhelming when every bottle promises moisture, strength, or shine. And with so many hair products to choose from, a lot of them can start to look the same unless you know what to look for on the ingredient list. But one of the easiest ways to better understand what a product might do for your hair is by taking a closer look at the ingredient list.
Learning the basic types of ingredients commonly found in hair products can help you better understand why certain products work well for your hair and why others may not fit as well into your routine.
When you look at the ingredient list on the back of that shampoo, conditioner, or styler, it can definitely feel overwhelming. Lots of times, the ingredients have long scientific names you probably aren't familiar with. And have a hard time pronouncing.
When reading a hair care ingredient list, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Ingredients are typically listed according to their concentration. That means the ingredients with the highest concentration are listed first and tend to the majority of the ingredients used in the product formula
- The first five ingredients usually have the biggest impact on how the product performs.
- Ingredients listed near the end are usually included in very small amounts (often for preservation, fragrance, or color).
- Just because an ingredient sounds "chemical" doesn't automatically mean it's bad. Everything, including water, is technically a chemical.
An interesting thing I learned is that most hair product ingredients fall into a few different categories. And each category has its own high-level set of benefits. Knowing what those ingredient types are and the benefits they provide can make it much easier when you're searching for a new hair product, especially if you have relaxed hair that needs a balance of moisture and strength.
Alcohols
Found in hair products like shampoos, hairsprays, treatments, and even conditioners, alcohols are organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Not all alcohols are created equal, and typically fall into two different camps.
Camp one is the fatty alcohols. They are usually moisturizing and help soften the hair. Examples include:
- Cetyl alcohol
- Cetearyl alcohol
- Behenyl alcohol
- Lauryl alcohol
These types of alcohols are commonly found in conditioners and leave-ins because they help lock moisture into the hair, improve slip, or give products a creamy texture. They can be helpful for relaxed hair because they improve softness and manageability.
The second camp is made up of the primary or short-chain alcohols. These are the ones you’ve probably heard influencers and hair experts say to avoid. The reason is that they can be drying with overuse. Examples of these types of alcohols include:
- Isopropyl alcohol
- Propyl alcohol
- Alcohol denat
These are often used to help products dry faster, repel humidity, or improve product absorption. Think your hair spray. So, not always bad. It all depends on which hair product it’s in, and how high it is on the ingredient list, and how often you use hair products with them in the ingredient list. If your hair already struggles with dryness, it's something to pay attention to.
Related read: The Best Shampoo Ingredients For Healthy Relaxed Hair
Conditioning Agents
Also known as cationic surfactants, these ingredients help soften the hair, improve detangling, reduce friction, and may provide a protective coating on the strands until your next wash day. That’s why they tend to be a primary ingredient in rinse-out conditioners.
This is especially helpful for relaxed hair, which can be more fragile where the new growth meets the processed hair.
Common conditioning ingredients include:
- Behentrimonium methosulfate (a gentle conditioning agent despite the scary name)
- Cetrimonium chloride
- Stearalkonium Chloride
Sillicones
When it comes to the hair care community, silicones tend to get a bad rap. In fact, for several years, I was one who tried to avoid hair products that didn’t have any silicones. Over time, I realized that they aren’t bad because they can be very helpful for protecting the hair from heat and reducing tangles.
Taking a closer look, silicones are synthetic and rubber-like polymers and come in three types: evaporating, water-soluble, and non-water-soluble. They are typically used in heat protectants to help protect the hair and fight frizz, and conditioners and hair stylers to help with detangling by adding slip, adding shine, and even softening the hair.
To know that your hair product has silicones, look for names like dimethicone or amodimethicone in the ingredient list.
The key to using hair products with silicones is to use them in moderation and give your hair a deep clean now and then to make sure the silicones are broken up and completely removed from your hair to avoid build-up.
Humectants
These ingredients attract moisture via water molecules from the environment and bind the molecules to the hair shaft. The benefit of this is that it helps the hair retain hydration. For relaxed hair, this can help maintain elasticity and reduce breakage.
As a result, humectants are typically found in products that provide moisture, such as rinse-out conditioners, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, and even some styling creams.
To know if a hair product has humectants, look for ingredients like
- Glycerin
- Glyceryl stearate
- Panthenol/Pro-Vitamin B5
- Aloe vera
- Honey
- Hyaluronic Acid
- Sodium PCA
- Lactic Acid
Even some ingredients that will be listed later on, such as collagen and silk keratin, are considered humectants.
One thing to know about humectants is that they work best depending on the weather. In humid environments, they can pull too much moisture into the hair, resulting in filling up the hair shaft, creating a lot of frizz.
In very dry environments, they can have the opposite effect, pulling moisture from the hair strands, creating dry hair. To avoid these products with humectants, they need to be balanced or used with moisture-sealing products or ingredients.
Oils
Commonly added to hair products to add softness, reduce friction, add shine, and help seal in moisture. Oils can also help make detangling easier.
There are two common types of oils found in hair products:
- Natural oils such as coconut oil, olive oil, argan oil, and jojoba oil. These oils can penetrate or coat the hair, depending on the type, and are often included to improve flexibility and reduce breakage.
- Mineral oil and petroleum-based oils. They work more as sealants by coating the hair shaft to prevent moisture loss. While sometimes criticized, they can actually be helpful for protecting the hair if used properly and clarified regularly.
Hair products you’ll typically find oil ingredients in are pre-shampoo treatments, conditioners, hair serums, oil mixtures, styling creams, and heat protectants.
Related read: The Ingredients Of A Healthy Conditioner
Preservatives
The purpose of preservatives in hair products is the same as that of preservatives in food. They help extend the life of the product by preventing bacteria, mold, and yeast from growing.
Some common preservatives include:
- Parabens
- Sodium benzoate
- Potassium sorbate
- Phenoxyethanol
While parabens have been controversial, they are also some of the most effective preservatives. Many brands now use alternative preservation systems, but the most important thing is that the products are properly preserved for safety.
Protein
Protein is a key part of the structure of hair. Protein ingredients help temporarily fill in weak areas along the hair shaft and can help strengthen damaged areas. That’s probably why it’s found in all types of hair products.
Protein ingredients are found in everything from pre-shampoo treatments to shampoos, conditioners, leave-ins, and stylers. There are even specific products that are protein-based and are considered protein treatments. They usually have more than just protein ingredients in them, but they are heavier on the protein side than a typical hair product.
To know if your hair product has protein in it, you'll want to look for ingredients like
- Hydrolyzed wheat protein
- Keratin
- Silk protein
- Collagen amino acids
- Silk keratin
Relaxed hair often benefits from occasional protein because chemical processing breaks down some of the hair's natural structure. However, too much protein can make hair feel stiff or brittle.
Surfactants
These are the cleansing agents or detergents used in hair products. When dissolved in water, they help lift dirt, oil, and product buildup from the hair and scalp. That's why they're most commonly found in shampoos.
Surfactants also help create the foaming or lathering effect many people associate with getting their hair clean.
Some examples of surfactants you’d find in shampoos include:
- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
- Cocamidopropyl betaine
- Sodium cocoyl isethionate
Not all surfactants are harsh. Some are stronger cleansers, while others are considered gentle or moisturizing cleansers.
What ingredients do you look for when shopping for hair products?
Hair products in my hair regimen
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