Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Substituting surfactants in a shampoo recipe

  • Substituting surfactants in a shampoo recipe

    Posted by Margaret2 on March 1, 2015 at 3:20 am

    Greetings,

     Sorry to be asking so many questions, shampoo-making is extremely new to me.  These are never going to be sold, it’s just personal use. 
    Can  Cocoamide DEA be substituted for Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside?
    Can SLS be substituted for SLeS? I probably need to use LESS of the SLS, right?
    What % of SLS  can be added to boost the sebum-cutting ability of a shampoo that is to be used each day, and which will also contain Cocamidopropyl Betaine & Decyl Glucoside?  I was hoping to find a baby shampoo recipe & just add SLS, unless that’s a terrible idea(?) for our adult heads, no babies here! 
    The surfactants I have, in case anyone’s wondering are:
    sodium laureth sulfate
    sodium lauryl sulfate
    cocamidopropyl betaine
    decyl glucoside
    cocoamide DEA
    belassi replied 9 years, 2 months ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
  • 1 Reply
  • belassi

    Member
    March 1, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    The DEA serves to shift the salt curve to the left. Typically 2%.

    I personally wouldn’t use more than about 7% SLS. Probably could start with 5% SLS, 6% SLES, 7% Decyl glucoside and then adjust the thickness by adding CAPB.

Log in to reply.