What it is
In the register’s words: “Glycolic acid, monosodium salt.”
- EU register name (INCI)
- SODIUM GLYCOLATE
- CAS number
- 2836-32-0
- EC number
- 220-624-9
What the register lists it for
These are the uses the European Commission’s CosIng register lists for Sodium Glycolate 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.
- Buffering
-
Keeps the product’s pH (how acidic it is) steady.
Register definition: “Stabilising the pH of an aqueous medium in a narrow range even if an acid or base is added. Altering and/or maintaining a cosmetic product's pH at the desired level.”
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.
- Shampoos 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Shampoos without it
- Clarifying shampoos 1 label First five names: 0 of 1 Clarifying shampoos without it
Every label, product by product (2)
- Kristin Ess Moisture Rich Curl Shampoo Shampoo 32nd of 41 names
- PATTERN Cleansing Shampoo Clarifying shampoo 28th of 34 names
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 buffering ingredients on these labels
- Citric Acid 93 labels
- Sodium Hydroxide 25 labels
- Aminomethyl Propanol 15 labels
- Lactic Acid 12 labels
- Acetic Acid 7 labels
- Sodium Acetate 7 labels
- Disodium Phosphate 6 labels
- Sodium Lactate 5 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.