Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Does cationic surfactant gives better result than silicone in shampoo

  • Does cationic surfactant gives better result than silicone in shampoo

    Posted by Tattvas on September 25, 2018 at 5:12 pm

    Hi everyone..

    We are tryint to batch a clear or opaque shampoo with jasmine fragrance

    Purified water qs
    Honey 20 percent
    Sles-15%
    Capb-5%
    Peg 12 dimethicone - 1.5%
    Cocamide mea -  0.6%
    Alor vera water - 20%
    Acrylate copolymer-6%
    Phenoxyethanol +Ethyl hexyl glycerin - 0.5%

    My points are these though the shampoo came fine

    1.i used siliocome peg dimethicone . Could i use cationic surfactant btms or btac instead of silicone? . 

    2. I used acrylate copolymer 6 %. Could i get same result with salt only provided salt have its own limitation to add? 

    3. I seee lotsa shampoo in market using alcohol and salicylic acid together..what etc benefit it will gjve to shampoo? 

    Pardon my chemistry!.. 

    Gunther replied 5 years, 6 months ago 7 Members · 13 Replies
  • 13 Replies
  • Tattvas

    Member
    September 25, 2018 at 5:52 pm

    And i found ppl struggling with salicylic acid solubility. It can be easily dissolved in PG. But how much PG is safe to use in shampoo instead of glycerin. 

  • OldPerry

    Member
    September 25, 2018 at 6:14 pm

    1. No a cationic surfactant can’t be used in an anionic surfactant system.  Of course the PEG 12 Dimethicone will just wash away so it’s not doing much in your formula.

    2.  Possibly but you’d have to run a salt curve analysis. You have a number of ingredients in the formula that might negatively impact the salt thickening effect.

    3. It is used to treat psorasis and dry scalp. I wouldn’t recommend using it in a general shampoo.

    4. You can use as much PG in a shampoo as you like. 

  • DAS

    Member
    September 25, 2018 at 7:37 pm

    Also the BTMS and the silicones are for different purposes. The cationics are for conditioning, and the silicones for shine. 

    You can use polyquats, those are dedigned to be compatible. And hydrophobic dimethicones, the most common are gums dispersed in cyclo, but there are so many to choose. See this, and that’s from one manufacturer.

  • Gunther

    Member
    September 25, 2018 at 11:39 pm

    I got a theory that for short acting formulations, like shampoos and conditioners which are left on hair for just a few minutes (some people only leave them a few seconds), cationics are kind of attracted by hair.

    Normal silicones like dimethicone and dimethiconol aren’t supposed to do much on paper, but their effect is noticeable in the real world.

    You can try Amodimethicone. Both a silicone and amine-functionalized which makes it cationic in water solution. Best of both worlds.
    You’d likely need cationic surfactants to keep amodimethicone in solution.

  • Microformulation

    Member
    September 26, 2018 at 1:00 am
    @DAS You can get conditioning, surfactant properties, lubricity, shine and even emulsification from silicones. It is a broad class of materials and it is a mistake to categorize them so narrowly.

  • Tattvas

    Member
    September 26, 2018 at 8:50 am

    @perry…pardon me.. I didnt mention.. But we have PQ-10=1.5%  in formula too. 

    But if silicones are going to wash off. How we going to achieve the shiny, volume and slippery or rejuventated hair after wash and keep them like that for sometime. 

    @Gunther .. I used Polyquat10 as cationic polymer.. But if i go for amodimethicone, will that be suffice to provide conditoning and silicone effect and enough to not to use pq10? 

    @Microformulation… I read it but still it recommend amodimethicone in the end to use in 2 in 1 shampoo.. But when i searched i found
    Amodimethicone is challenge to remove in rinse off.. Why not use somewhat water soluble and which doesnt built up on hair and leave it shiny.. May be dimethicone copolyol   

  • Microformulation

    Member
    September 26, 2018 at 12:19 pm

    @Tattvas The entire point was not to dismiss Amodimethicone but to show that a statement that silicones only deliver shine was incorrect. Now, if you wanted to really learn, you could read the entire article and see how varied the class is.

  • OldPerry

    Member
    September 26, 2018 at 12:50 pm

    @Tattvas - you have to use a silicone that is not water soluble and will plate out on the hair during use. This is how 2-in-1 shampoos work.  They use Dimethicone, not water soluble PEG 12 Dimethicone.

  • Tattvas

    Member
    September 27, 2018 at 4:24 am

    thanks @Microformulation @Perry

  • belassi

    Member
    September 27, 2018 at 4:44 am

    Dimethicone PEG-7 Isostearate (Silsense DW-18) definitely has a conditioning effect in my experience. I would use it more, but it’s rather expensive.

  • ssdc

    Member
    October 10, 2018 at 6:01 am

    @Perry if silicone is not soluble then it won’t be a clear shampoo?
    How can i get a clear shampoo without silicone?

  • OldPerry

    Member
    October 10, 2018 at 12:45 pm

    @ssdc - If you want a clear shampoo you use a cationic polymer as the conditioning agent. It won’t work as well for conditioning as a silicone containing shampoo but it could be clear.  Guar Hydroxypropyltriminoum chloride for example.

  • Gunther

    Member
    October 10, 2018 at 3:46 pm

    You can Google the studies

    Determination of the Feel of Hair after Cosmetic Treatment - Sensory and Objective Test Methods

    A preliminary investigation of the interaction of a quat with silicones and its conditioning benefits on hair

    New Approaches for Assessing Conditioning and Quantifying Silicone Deposition on Hair

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