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LJ HairLab

SD Alcohol 40

Drying alcohol Not CG-friendly

A specially denatured ethanol used in hair sprays and some styling products to help them dry fast.

Curly Girl note: A denatured ethanol — drying when used high in the list.

How our checker rates it

ModeRatingWhy
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

  • sd alcohol 40-b
  • sd alcohol 40b
  • sd alcohol 40-a
  • sd alcohol 40-c
Check a whole product Paste the full ingredient list to see every flag at once.

Similar ingredients

Sources

Last data update:

  1. Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR). Ingredient safety assessments. Safety assessments for cosmetic ingredients cited on ingredient pages.

How we research and update pages: editorial policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.