What it is
The register’s chemical name for it: “Carbonic Acid, Dicaprylyl Ester.”
- EU register name (INCI)
- DICAPRYLYL CARBONATE
- CAS number
- 1680-31-5
- EC number
- 434-850-2
What the register lists it for
These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Dicaprylyl Carbonate 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.
- Emollient
-
Oils, butters and similar ingredients that make a surface feel soft and smooth. On hair they coat the strand; many plant oils carry this role.
Register definition: “Acting as lubricants on the skin surface providing the skin with a soft and smooth appearance.”
- 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.
- Deep conditioners 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Deep conditioners without it
- Leave-in conditioners 2 labels First five names: 2 of 2 Leave-in conditioners without it
Every label, product by product (3)
- Bounce Curl Ayurvedic Deep Conditioner Deep conditioner 6th of 34 names
- Curlsmith Fragrance-Free Leave-In Leave-in conditioner 3rd of 25 names
- Curlsmith Weightless Air Dry Cream Leave-in conditioner 4th of 33 names
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 emollient ingredients on these labels
- Cetearyl Alcohol 80 labels
- Cetyl Alcohol 45 labels
- Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil 31 labels
- Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil 25 labels
- Stearyl Alcohol 23 labels
- Glyceryl Stearate 15 labels
- Glycol Distearate 15 labels
- Propylene Glycol Dicaprylate/Dicaprate 15 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.