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Ingredient on hair labels

Behentrimonium Chloride

TheWashDay editorial · Updated · From the EU ingredient register and the makers’ own labels · How we match names

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Behentrimonium Chloride is on 34 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 13 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are hair conditioning, antistatic and preservative. 13 of these labels name it among the first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Behentrimonium Chloride is the quaternary ammonium salt.”

EU register name (INCI)
BEHENTRIMONIUM CHLORIDE
CAS number
17301-53-0
EC number
241-327-0

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Behentrimonium Chloride in any cosmetic, hair roles first. They say why a maker might add it, not what it does in one formula, and they aren’t a safety rating.

Hair conditioning

The register’s hair role for ingredients that make hair feel softer, smoother or easier to comb. Most conditioners, masks and leave-ins list several.

Register definition: “Enhancing the appearance and feel of hair. Leaving the hair easy to comb, supple, soft and shiny and/or imparting volume, lightness, gloss, texture, etc.”

Antistatic

Cuts the static that makes dry hair fly away. Many conditioning ingredients carry this role too, because both work at the hair’s surface.

Register definition: “Preventing and/or reducing static electricity by neutralising electrical charge on surfaces.”

Preservative

Stops bacteria, mold and yeast growing in the bottle. EU law allows only the preservatives on its own list for this role.

Register definition: “Exclusively or mainly intended to inhibit the development of micro-organisms in the cosmetic product. All authorised preservatives are substances in the positive list of Annex V to the Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009.”

Where it sits on each label

US labels list ingredients from most to least, except that those at 1% or less may follow in any order. A name near the top is a large part of the formula. A label doesn’t mark where the 1% point falls, so further down, the order says little about how much is in it.

Every label, product by product (34)

Each line runs from the first name on a label to the last; a dot is where this ingredient sits. Makers change formulas now and then; if the list on your bottle differs, go by your bottle.

Your next step

Find products without Behentrimonium Chloride Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other hair conditioning ingredients on these labels

Updated · The name, numbers and uses come from the European Commission’s CosIng entry (CC BY 4.0); we write the uses in US spelling and put the hair ones first. The labels are each maker’s own. The order rule is the FDA’s Cosmetics Labeling Guide. All our sources are on the Sources page.