Ingredient on hair labels

Jojoba Esters

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

Jump to a section

Jojoba Esters is on 4 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 3 makers, most often in deep conditioners. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include emollient, moisturizing and skin conditioning. One of these labels names it among the first five ingredients.

What it is

In the register’s words: “Jojoba Esters is a complex mixture of esters produced by the transesterification/interesterification of Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil (q.v.), Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil (q.v.), or a mixture of the two.”

EU register name (INCI)
JOJOBA ESTERS

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Jojoba Esters 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.”

Moisturizing

Raises the water content of the skin. Hair labels often list these for the scalp as well as the lengths.

Register definition: “Increasing the water content of the skin and keeping it soft and smooth.”

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.”

Soothing

Eases discomfort of the skin or scalp. It describes the feel, not a treatment.

Register definition: “Lightening discomfort of the skin or of the scalp.”

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 (4)

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

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.