Ingredient on hair labels

Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil

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

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Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil is on 7 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 5 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are fragrance and skin conditioning. 2 of these labels name it among the first five ingredients.

What it is

In the register’s words: “Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil is the oily liquid obtained from the seeds of Safflower, Carthamus tinctorius L., Compositae. It consists principally of the triglycerides of linoleic acid.”

EU register name (INCI)
CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS SEED OIL
CAS number
8001-23-8
EC number
232-276-5

Labels often add a second name in brackets, so a label may say Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil where the register says CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS SEED OIL. Both are the same ingredient.

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil 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.

Fragrance

Gives the product its smell or covers an unpleasant one. A label may name each scent ingredient or group them as Fragrance (Parfum).

Register definition: “Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.”

Skin conditioning

The register’s broad role for ingredients that keep skin in good condition. On a hair label it often sits beside a hair role, or marks a plant oil or extract.

Register definition: “Maintaining the skin in good condition.”

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 (7)

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 fragrance 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.