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Ingredient on hair labels

Polyquaternium-4

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

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Polyquaternium-4 is on 4 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 3 makers, most often in stylers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are antistatic and film forming. One of these labels names it among the first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Cellulose, 2-hydroxyethyl ether, polymer with N,N-dimethyl-N-(2-propenyl)-2-propenaminium chloride.”

EU register name (INCI)
POLYQUATERNIUM-4
CAS number
92183-41-0
EC number
-

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Polyquaternium-4 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.

Antistatic

Cuts the static that makes dry hair fly away. Many conditioning ingredients carry this role too, because both work at the hair’s surface.

Register definition: “Preventing and/or reducing static electricity by neutralising electrical charge on surfaces.”

Film forming

Leaves a thin, continuous film on the hair as it dries. Polymers in gels and foams carry it; the film is what feels like a cast.

Register definition: “Producing (upon application) a continuous film on the skin, hair or nails.”

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

Find products without Polyquaternium-4 Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other antistatic 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.