Chemistry

Chemistry: The chemistry of humectants – water binding, hydrogen bonding, polarity, osmosis, and so much more!

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Before we meet a new humectant, AQUAXYL™, let’s take a look at how humectants work! Before we start… Take a look at my humungous humectants section of this site, found under the “ingredients” tab in the menu bar. What does it mean that humectants have “water binding” ability?  Humectants are hygroscopic, meaning they draw water...

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The big post on hydrolyzed proteins and amino acids! (Updated March 20, 2024)

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Three bottles with brown, clear liquid sit on a counter top. These are hydrolyzed proteins.

Welcome to what I think of as the big post on hydrolyzed proteins and amino acids, the post in which I try to address all the things you might want to know about these ingredients! We use a lot of hydrolyzed proteins around here. and I figured it was time to put together all the...

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Demythifying the myths: Stearic acid is not an anionic emulsifier

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Stearic acid in a tin plate, which is a white flaky solid.

I can’t stress this enough – stearic acid is a non-ionic fatty acid that thickens anhydrous products and emulsions. It is not an anionic (negatively charged) emulsifier.  Sight, I thought we’d demythified this one years and years ago, but here it is, out in the wild, messing things up again. Out there in the world...

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Q&A: Can I use tetrasodium EDTA in an acidic formulation? If so, how?

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In the monthly Q&A, Free Drey asked, Hi Susan, I had some questions about Tetrasodium EDTA. I know it’s suggested to be used in high alkaline formulations, whereas Disodium EDTA is better for pH under 8. If I only had Tetrasodium EDTA, could I use it in formulations under pH 8 if I adjusted the pH...

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Chemistry of your hair: The hair strand – the cuticle (updated 2023)

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The cuticle is the part of the hair that probably concerns us the most on a day to day basis. When our hair emerges from our scalp, it has about 6 to 10 layers of cuticle about 50 micrometres on a side and about 0.5 micrometres thick. The cuticle is attached to the cortex and...

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