Alcohol Denat.
Ethanol with a bitter additive so nobody drinks it. It helps sprays and gels dry fast, but high up in a list it can leave hair dry and frizzy.
Curly Girl note: A short-chain alcohol that evaporates fast and can dry hair; tolerable only in tiny amounts near the end of a list.
About Alcohol Denat.
Alcohol denat. is ethanol — the same alcohol found in drinks — mixed with a small amount of a denaturant that makes it taste terrible and legally undrinkable. In hair products it is a solvent: it dissolves fragrance and polymers, helps hair sprays and some gels dry quickly, and gives a light, non-sticky finish.
Short-chain alcohols like this evaporate fast and pull water along with them. When a product contains a lot of it, that evaporation can leave curly and coily hair drier, rougher and more prone to frizz, and repeated use can make ends feel brittle. That is why the Curly Girl Method lists drying alcohols as something to avoid.
Position on the label matters. Ingredients are listed from highest to lowest concentration until you reach about 1%. Alcohol denat. near the top of a hair spray is a large share of the formula; listed after the preservatives, it is usually just there to dissolve fragrance or an extract and is unlikely to dry your hair. Our checker reflects that by lowering the flag to 'caution' when it appears past the 1% line.
Don't confuse it with fatty alcohols such as cetyl, stearyl or cetearyl alcohol. Those are waxy, moisturizing ingredients that soften hair and help conditioners feel creamy. If you have low porosity hair and use a gel with alcohol high on the list, follow with a moisturizing leave-in to offset the drying effect.
How our checker rates it
| Mode | Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Curly Girl | Avoid | Drying alcohol high in the list — can dry out curls. Not CG-friendly. |
| Relaxed hair | Caution | Drying alcohol high in the list — relaxed ends are already prone to dryness. |
| Low porosity | OK | No concerns for this mode. |
| Protein-sensitive | OK | No concerns for this mode. |
Ratings assume it is listed near the top of the label. After the first preservative or fragrance (likely 1% or less) most cautions soften.
What drying alcohol ingredients do
Short-chain alcohols that evaporate quickly. Useful for fast drying and dissolving other ingredients, but high amounts can dry hair out.
Also listed as
- denatured alcohol
- alcohol denatured
- sd alcohol
Similar ingredients
Sources
Last data update:
- Robbins CR. Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair. 5th ed. Springer; 2012. Reference text on hair structure, surfactants, conditioning agents, protein, heat and chemical treatments.
- Massey L, Chiu M. Curly Girl: The Handbook. Workman Publishing; 2011. Origin of the Curly Girl Method rules (no sulfates, no non-soluble silicones, no drying alcohols).
- 21 CFR 701.3 — Designation of ingredients (U.S. cosmetic labeling). Ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance; those at 1% or less may follow in any order.
- Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR). Ingredient safety assessments. Safety assessments for cosmetic ingredients cited on ingredient pages.
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