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Ingredient on hair labels

SH-Polypeptide-121

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

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SH-Polypeptide-121 is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, all of them stylers, from 1 maker. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are film forming and skin conditioning. 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: “sh-Polypeptide-121 is a single chain recombinant human peptide, produced by fermentation in E. coli. The starting gene is synthesized to be identical to the human gene which codes for Collagen alpha-1(XXI) chain used such or adapted to the production host. It contains a maximum of 957 amino acids which may contain disulfide bonds and/or glycosylation. The protein consists of the proper sequence of the 20 standard amino acids.”

EU register name (INCI)
SH-POLYPEPTIDE-121

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for SH-Polypeptide-121 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.

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.”

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.”

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 SH-Polypeptide-121 Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other film forming 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.