Ingredient on hair labels

Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside

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

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Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 2 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are cleansing, foaming and cleansing surfactant. One of these labels names it among the first five ingredients.

What it is

In the register’s words: “D-Glucopyranose, oligomers, decyl octyl glycosides.”

EU register name (INCI)
CAPRYLYL/CAPRYL GLUCOSIDE
CAS number
68515-73-1
EC number
500-220-1

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside 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.

Cleansing

The register’s general role for ingredients that help clean, from washing ingredients to some plant extracts.

Register definition: “Helping to keep the body surface clean.”

Foaming

Traps air in a liquid to make foam or lather.

Register definition: “Traping numerous small bubbles of air or other gas within a small volume of liquid by modifying the surface tension of the liquid.”

Cleansing surfactant

The washing ingredients: they let water lift oil, product and dirt off hair and scalp. Shampoos list them near the top; some conditioners hold a little.

Register definition: “Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).”

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 (2)

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

Other cleansing 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.