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Ingredient on hair labels

Triethanolamine

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

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Triethanolamine is on 2 of the 177 hair-product labels we compare, from 2 makers. Its uses in the EU ingredient register include buffering, emulsifying surfactant and fragrance. None of these labels names it among its first five ingredients.

See it on each label Products without it

What it is

The register’s chemical name for it: “2,2',2''-Nitrilotriethanol.”

EU register name (INCI)
TRIETHANOLAMINE
CAS number
102-71-6
EC number
203-049-8

What the register lists it for

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

Emulsifying surfactant

Lets oil and water mix into one cream or lotion and stay mixed. Conditioners and creams rely on them.

Register definition: “Helping suspensions or dispersions of liquids in a second liquid by reducing the surface tension of the substances to be emulsified.”

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.”

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

Find products without Triethanolamine Check every name on your own label All ingredients on the labels we compare

Other buffering 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.