“Behentrimonium Chloride?”Here!
Appears in 1 scanned product.
In personal care
A quaternary ammonium compound, meaning a positively charged molecule with a long fatty tail derived from behenic acid, a fat found in some plant oils. It is manufactured, not extracted whole from a plant.
Why it’s used
It is a conditioning agent, mainly for hair. Hair is negatively charged after washing, and this positively charged molecule clings to it, smoothing the surface, cutting static, and making wet hair easier to comb. It shows up in conditioners, detanglers, and some conditioning shampoos, and it also does double duty as a mild preservative-boosting antistatic agent.
What the evidence says
We haven’t found a source for this one that you can open and check, so we’re not summarizing the evidence.
Look it up yourself
We would rather point you at the shelf than summarize something you can’t check. These are the same places we search:
- PubChem — what the substance is, chemically — names, synonyms and structure
- PubMed — every paper indexed by the US National Library of Medicine that names it
These are starting points, not our findings — we haven’t run them for you. A substance whose name is also an ordinary word (“Heart”, “Alanine”, “Water”) will return papers that are not about the ingredient at all.
Context
Used at low percentages (typically under 5 percent) in leave-on and rinse-off hair products, well below levels associated with irritation. Not the same substance as the harsher quaternary disinfectants sometimes discussed in cleaning contexts.
Rumors
Behentrimonium chloride is toxic and damages the eyes.
Supports — suggestivehealth and safety evidence
Measured as an outcome.
- Opinion on alkyl (C16, C18, C22) trimethylammonium chloride, For other uses than as a preservative (SCCS/1246/09) (Regulatory) · Funding not checked
Who’s saying this
- The Chalkboard — a publisher: wellness magazine launched by Pressed Juicery
How we know who this is
- “Launched by Pressed Juicery in 2012, The Chalkboard brings our wellness-minded readers daily content to help you live your best life through wellness, nutrition, self-care + great design.” (their page)