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Ingredient on hair labels

Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil

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

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Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil is on 69 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 21 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include hair conditioning, fragrance and perfuming. 28 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: “Cocos Nucifera Oil is the fixed oil obtained by expression of the kernels of the seeds of the Coconut, Cocos nucifera L., Palmaceae.”

EU register name (INCI)
COCOS NUCIFERA OIL
CAS number
8001-31-8
EC number
232-282-8
Written on these labels as
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil; Cocos Nucifera (Virgin Coconut) Oil; Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil (Naturally Refined)

Labels often add a second name in brackets, so a label may say Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil where the register says COCOS NUCIFERA OIL. Both are the same ingredient.

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) 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.

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.”

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.”

Perfuming

Used as a perfume or scent material. Essential oils and their scent compounds, such as linalool and limonene, carry this role.

Register definition: “Used for perfume and aromatic raw materials.”

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 (69)

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 Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil 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.