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Shampoo bars: scent retention in hair?
Hello, all. This is really kind of a hail-mary from a home maker/non-seller of cold processed soap and B&B. I started making syndet shampoo bars about a year ago and like using them, but I can’t figure out how to get scent to stick to my hair. The bars themselves smells nice with added fragrance or essential oil, but leave virtually no scent in my clean hair afterwards.
I’ve tried various types of scents, various amounts (up to 2%, I was nervous about going higher), and tried mixing it into other components of the bars (eg, rice flour) to see if that would help the fragrance stick better. No dice.
Maybe this is one of those things that amateurs really can’t address, but I came across the aroma chemicals offered at Perfumer’s World and wondered if those – either by themselves or mixed with FO/EO’s - were likely to help as fixatives. Eg, I like mostly “green/fresh” scents; is it worth experimenting with an AC which is rated as being good in shampoo like hydratropic aldehyde (as an example, I figured there would be a steep and maybe expensive learning curve) or is this too complicated and pointless for someone like me?
Sorry if this is a really irritating question, but I have spent quite a lot of time looking online, here and elsewhere, to see if I could figure it out but didn’t find anything really useful. Thanks in advance for any thoughts, even if just advice that it’s not worth working on it further.
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6 Replies
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I manufactured shampoo bars (plus a lot of other skincare products) when I co-founded Indochine Natural in 2006 which ran until 2023. These shampoo bars were particularly popular with one of our Japanese wholesale customers and did well in Japan. I also did other Private Label shampoo bars for various brands globally.
I only used essential oils for fragrance, and the key was following the basic rules of fragrance formulation, and understanding the role of base, middle and top notes. It’s something I have done for nearly 30 years, and am still doing.
I developed and tested around six(6) or more fragrance blends that were tested and accepted by my Japanese wholesaler. This process took about nine (9) months which included soap bar curing for 30 days in a temp/humidity-controlled cure room (very important) and extensive consumer testing.
I should also mention that the basic soap bar formulation plays a role in retaining the fragrance and transferring it to the hair during washing.
Also worth noting is that if you blow dry your hair, you will not get much fragrance retention.
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I think you forgot to answer a question.
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Usually fragrances come with a fixative polymer and high molecular weight aromatic compounds to increase deposition. Now, you could add a cationic polymer to your formula (like guar HPTC) wich during washing will form a coacervate with your anionic surfactant and help deposit part of your fragrance.
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Mike, thanks for reminding me to be more mindful about layering scent notes, I need to look at that more carefully. I did try a number of cold process formulations but my hair just turned to straw no matter what I did with those, hence the turn to synthetic detergents for my hair. Ketchito, thank you so much for your advice on the cationic polymer, that is a big help and a really useful practical step.
Adam, I should have been more organized with posing my question at the end of my post instead of the middle, where it got buried. Here it is: ” I came across the aroma chemicals offered at Perfumer’s World and wondered if those – either by themselves or mixed with FO/EO’s - were likely to help as fixatives.” Thanks for pointing that out.
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Unfortunately, there isn’t a single magic ingredient that can be added to a pre-made fragrance oil to increase its longevity or scent retention. These factors need to be carefully considered during the initial development of the fragrance itself. I would caution against spending money on aroma chemicals unless you have a solid understanding of how to use them effectively. A great resource for learning about perfumery and fragrance development is the forum Basenotes, which specializes in these topics. You can search their old discussions about fixatives to learn more.
Big companies often hire professional perfumers to custom-develop fragrances with specific goals, like enhanced scent retention in shampoos. If creating a custom fragrance isn’t an option, trial and error with pre-made blends will likely be your best approach. For example, if you’re aiming for a strawberry-scented shampoo, you could source as many strawberry fragrance oils as possible and test them to find which one offers the best scent retention. This process may mean that your favorite fragrance oil might not perform as desired, and you’ll have to decide whether to prioritize scent retention or choose an alternative fragrance.
@ketchito is an expert and I would definitely advise you to try out his suggestion of adding Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride to help with deposition.
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Thank you, Fedaro, especially for the tip on checking basenotes. I’m going to check there, but based on what you guys have said I think I might settle for just being happy that my bars work well for my hair even if it doesn’t smell very strong. But I am going to follow up on @ketchito and your advice on guar HPTC and am grateful that the two of you took the time to offer it to me.
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