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Ingredient on hair labels

Ethylhexyl Palmitate

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

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Ethylhexyl Palmitate is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 2 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are emollient and perfuming. One of these labels names it among the first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

The register’s chemical name for it: “Hexadecanoic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester; Octyl palmitate.”

EU register name (INCI)
ETHYLHEXYL PALMITATE
CAS number
29806-73-3
EC number
249-862-1
Other names in the register
Hexadecanoic acid, 2-ethylhexyl ester; Octyl palmitate

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Ethylhexyl Palmitate 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.”

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.”

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

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

Other emollient 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.