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Ingredient on hair labels

Propylparaben

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

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Propylparaben is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 1 maker. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are preservative and perfuming. None of these labels names it among its first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Propylparaben is the ester of n-propyl alcohol and p-hydroxybenzoic acid.”

EU register name (INCI)
PROPYLPARABEN
CAS number
94-13-3
EC number
202-307-7

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Propylparaben 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.

Preservative

Stops bacteria, mold and yeast growing in the bottle. EU law allows only the preservatives on its own list for this role.

Register definition: “Exclusively or mainly intended to inhibit the development of micro-organisms in the cosmetic product. All authorised preservatives are substances in the positive list of Annex V to the Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009.”

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 Propylparaben Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other preservative 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.