Tips to select the Best Surfactant For Rinse-off Products
- April 7, 2020
- Posted by: MahaChem
- Category: LS, Personal Care
How much do you know about the surfactants used in rinse-off formulations?
We will be sharing on the selection of primary surfactants for rinse-off formulations. A rinse-off product can include shampoo, body wash, facial wash, baby wash and feminine wash etc. Rinse-off formulations usually contain at least three types of ingredients. The three types of ingredients are:
- Primary Surfactants
- Secondary Surfactants
- Additives
What are the Primary Surfactants?
Primary surfactants are main cleansing agents found in our daily shampoo and body wash products. Hence, they are also known as the “workhorse” in a rinse-off formulation. They form the bulk of the ingredients in rinse-off products and are typically added at a dosage between 6-12% actives.
Problems With Early Generation Surfactants
Earlier generation surfactants such as Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfates (SLES), is a common primary surfactant used in rinse-off formulations. However, many sulfate or sulfo-containing surfactants are plagued by safety issues arising from their by-products. For example, SLES contains a by-product, 1,4 dioxane, and it is carcinogenic.
Recent Highly Recommended Primary Surfactants: Amino-based Solutions
Amino acid-based surfactants are expected to be the next generation surfactants due to their improved safety profile over sulfate or sulfo-containing surfactants. Unlike the sulfate or sulfo-containing surfactants which contain by-products such as dioxane, methanol and sultone, amino acid-based surfactants’ by-products are safe and benign.
Many amino acid-based surfactants have been developed in recent years to meet the demands of sulfate or sulfo-free rinse-off formulation in Asia. The amino acid-based surfactants include sarcosinates, glycinates, glutamates and alaninates.
The Guideline on Amino-based Surfactant Selection for Rinse-off Formulation
Selecting a suitable amino acid-based surfactant can be a challenge to Asian formulators. There is a wide range of amino acid-based surfactants and each of them impart different benefits to the formulated product. We have created a simple illustration to highlight the key benefits of using different amino acid-based surfactant in a rinse-off product.
Figure 1 Key benefits for the amino acid-based surfactants in personal care formulation
In the subsequent articles, we will share more information on the current products in the market that use amino acid-based surfactants and how to formulate an amino acid-based surfactant rinse-off product. Do contact us to find out more about formulating with amino acid-based surfactants.