Cetrimonium Chloride

Keeps the formula fresh.

What it is

An ingredient made in a lab, from the family of quaternary ammonium salts, which carry a positive electrical charge.

A preservative that helps keep the product free from microbial growth, and it also helps oil and water mix and reduces static in hair.

A short summary from the dictionary, not yet an in-depth article. About these entries

What it does in a formula

Keeps the formula freshOfficial EU function: Preservative

Helps oil and water mixOfficial EU function: Surfactant - emulsifying

Limits microbesOfficial EU function: Antimicrobial

Reduces staticOfficial EU function: Antistatic

What official sources say

Restricted in certain uses · Cosmetics, EU

Allowed as a preservative in EU cosmetics up to 0.1% (Annex V).

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V: list of preservatives allowed in cosmetic products, retrieved 2026-10-09

Restricted in certain uses · Cosmetics, EU

Allowed in EU cosmetics within limits that depend on the product type (Annex III, entry 286). This entry covers its uses other than as a preservative.

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex III: list of substances which cosmetic products must not contain except subject to the restrictions laid down, retrieved 2026-10-09

A label gives no amounts, so none of this says a product is unsafe.