What it is
The register’s chemical name for it: “Tetradecanoic acid, isopropyl ester.”
- EU register name (INCI)
- ISOPROPYL MYRISTATE
- CAS number
- 110-27-0
- EC number
- 203-751-4
What the register lists it for
These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Isopropyl Myristate 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.”
- 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.”
- Binding
-
Holds powders or pressed products together. On a hair label it usually sits beside another listed use.
Register definition: “Providing adhesive properties during and after compression in cosmetic tablets and/or cakes.”
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.
- Rinse-out conditioners 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Rinse-out conditioners without it
- Deep conditioners 2 labels First five names: 1 of 2 Deep conditioners without it
- Leave-in conditioners 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Leave-in conditioners without it
- Stylers 1 label First five names: 1 of 1 Stylers without it
- Hair oils 1 label First five names: 1 of 1 Hair oils without it
Every label, product by product (6)
- Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil Conditioner Rinse-out conditioner 6th of 26 names
- Maui Moisture Heal & Hydrate + Shea Butter Hair Mask Deep conditioner 4th of 26 names
- Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair! Deep Conditioning Mask Deep conditioner · listed as Isopropyl Myristate* 34th of 40 names
- DevaCurl Leave-In Decadence Leave-in conditioner 10th of 39 names
- Maui Moisture Curl Quench + Coconut Oil Curl Smoothie Styler 5th of 28 names
- Cécred Nourishing Hair Oil Hair oil 2nd of 31 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.