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Ingredient on hair labels

Tocopherol

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

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Tocopherol is on 45 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 17 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include antioxidant, fragrance and occlusive. 2 of these labels name it among the first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

In the register’s words: “Tocopherol consists of alpha-tocopherol, beta-tocopherol, delta-tocopherol and/or gamma-tocopherol and conforms to the formulae:.”

EU register name (INCI)
TOCOPHEROL
CAS number
54-28-4 (gamma)/ 16698-35-4(beta) / 10191-41-0(DL) / 119-13-1 / 1406-18-4 / 1406-66-2 / 2074-53-5 (DL) / 59-02-9 (D)/7616-22-0
EC number
200-201-5 / 240-747-1 / 233-466-0 / 204-299-0 /215-798-8 / - / 218-197-9 / 200-412-2 / -
Other names in the register
alpha-tocopherol; Vitamin E
Written on these labels as
Tocopherol; Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

What the register lists it for

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

Antioxidant

Slows the oxygen damage that makes oils go rancid in the bottle. Vitamin E (tocopherol) is the common one.

Register definition: “Inhibiting reactions promoted by oxygen, thus avoiding oxidation and rancidity.”

Fragrance

Gives the product its smell or covers an unpleasant one. A label may name each scent ingredient or group them as Fragrance (Parfum).

Register definition: “Imparting an odour or taste. Creating a perceivable pleasant smell and/or masking a bad smell.”

Occlusive

Forms a layer that slows water loss. Heavier oils, butters and waxes carry it.

Register definition: “Retarding the evaporation of water from the skin surface. Occlusives are generally lipids which tend to remain on the skin surface and thus increase the water content of skin.”

Skin conditioning

A register role for ingredients that help dry or rough skin feel supple again.

Register definition: “Enhancing the appearance of dry and/or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness.”

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 (45)

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

Other antioxidant 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.