Ingredient deep-dive

Polyquaternium: Is It a Microplastic?

Medium concernAcrylate / vinyl polymer

Synthetic cationic polymer family used as a hair conditioner.

Use the app

Scan any product for Polyquaternium in 5 seconds

The MicroPlastics iOS app flags this ingredient and 24 others instantly. Paste a label into the free web ingredient checker first if you want a no-install scan.

Download on the App Store

Polyquaternium — common questions

Is Polyquaternium a microplastic?

Yes — it is classified as a synthetic polymer. Synthetic cationic polymer family used as a hair conditioner.

Related ingredients

Acrylates Copolymer

Acrylate / vinyl polymer · High concern

Synthetic film-forming plastic used widely in makeup, sunscreens, and hair fixatives.

Acrylates Crosspolymer

Acrylate / vinyl polymer · High concern

Cross-linked acrylic polymer thickener. Same plastic family as Acrylates Copolymer.

Carbomer

Acrylate / vinyl polymer · Medium concern

Cross-linked polyacrylic acid thickener. Synthetic polymer, though much smaller particles than microbeads.

Polyacrylate

Acrylate / vinyl polymer · Medium concern

Polymer thickener / absorbent. Plastic family used in absorbent gels and lotions.