Ingredient on hair labels

Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate

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

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Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, all of them shampoos, from 2 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register are cleansing and cleansing surfactant. One of these labels names it among the first five ingredients.

What it is

The register’s chemical name for it: “L-Glutamic acid, N-coco acyl derivs., monosodium salts.”

EU register name (INCI)
SODIUM COCOYL GLUTAMATE
CAS number
68187-32-6
EC number
269-087-2

What the register lists it for

These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 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.

Cleansing

The register’s general role for ingredients that help clean, from washing ingredients to some plant extracts.

Register definition: “Helping to keep the body surface clean.”

Cleansing surfactant

The washing ingredients: they let water lift oil, product and dirt off hair and scalp. Shampoos list them near the top; some conditioners hold a little.

Register definition: “Wetting body surfaces, emulsifying or solubilizing oils, and suspending soil (generally, such ingredients contribute to the foaming and lathering properties of cleansing products).”

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

Other cleansing 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.