-
Does alpha olefin sulfonate has the strongest cleansing power for personal cleansers?
I have used these surfactants in different quantities, blends and alone to see how they foam, clean & feel.
SLS
SLES
ALS
ALES
AOS
CAPB
lauryl hydroxysultaineC amin oxide
C DEA
C MEA
disodium lauryl sulfosuccinatedisodium laureth sulfosuccinate
All 4 glucosides
Sodium stearoyl lactylate
Pg10 laurateI have used level’s as low as 3% and as high as 30%(glucosides only) active surfactant
I am using 3g of finished product on my hair and body to evaluate there foam and cleaning power comparatively.
I make cleansing products that foam better and more that most of my competitors with 6% total active surfactants. So i am looking to maximum the cleaning power of my shampoo with this amount of surfactant without reducing foam.
The worst foam that i have seen is from AOS alone or with other surfactants up to 10% total active surfactants & ratios from AOS:CAPB 9:1 to 1:1 And even AOS: SLES: CAPB 1:1:1. It doesn’t foam at all at first wash & does very little foam in second wash. It reduces the foam of other surfactants too.( I don’t know if it needs special method of preparation to foam well that i don’t know or there are different types of AOS and i am using the wrong type or it is normal for AOS to not foam in shampoo.)
But the cleaning power of AOS was best even if it didn’t foam at all in my experience. It feels like it cleans the hair better than any other surfactants.
10% AOS felt like the cleaning is too strong for hair and body.
Even 3% AOS looks to clean hair & body better than 6% SLES, 6% SLES:CAPB @ 3:1 & 4:1 ratio and 6% SLES:SLS:CAPB @ 5:1:1 ratio by weight.These tests were done without any conditioning ingredients.
My question: does AOS has the strongest cleansing power than any other surfactant in personal cleansers? If not, what is the strongest cleanser?
For cleansing power I don’t know the exact soil to remove from hair to feel clean but comparatively speaking, with APGs even at concentrations that will make your hair and scalp dry, it will not feel clean. On the other hand with AOS hair & scalp feel very clean.
I am planning to use AOS or whatever surfactant that has the strongest cleansing power @10% of my total surfactant just for cleaning purpose although it doesn’t foam and my even reduce the foam.
-
5 Replies
-
Are you washing with hard water?
-
zetein said:Are you washing with hard water?
Yes. TDS is around 700
-
In soft water AOS produces more foam than SLS. In hard water AOS loses foaming power real quick, but the detergency remains (and is higher than SLS).
-
zetein said:In soft water AOS produces more foam than SLS. In hard water AOS loses foaming power real quick, but the detergency remains (and is higher than SLS).
That is interesting. I thought water hardness has less impact on AOS than SLS. Tomorrow i will wash my hair with soft water and AOS: CAPB 1:1 shampoo and see how it foams.
In hard water this formula foamed very bad.
Do you have any suggestion for as AOS formula to start from for good foaming?
Log in to reply.