Surfactants

People ask me all the time which surfactants they should buy, and this is a more complicated question than they think! If I could afford it, I’d have every single surfactant available on my shelves, but I know this isn’t realistic. So how do you decide which ones get a permanent place in your formulating...

Cocamide DEA (or cocamide diethanolamine) is a non-ionic surfactant derived from coconut fatty acids (hence the coca- part) that behaves as an emulsifier, slip enhancer, and re-fattener when included in surfactant mixes. Cocamide DEA can improve the density, body, and stability of foams, so it is a great addition to a bubble bath, but it...

Some non-ionic surfactants are not only emulsifiers or solubilizers but foamy detergents. The alkyl polyglucosides are new surfactants derived from reacting corn starch with a fatty alcohol to produce a highly biodegradable that is highly tolerant to electrolytes like salt (which means it can’t be thickened well with salt). You can find low ethoxylated monoglycerides...

If you read anything about cocamidopropyl betaine, it is usually listed as an amphoteric, meaning it has a positive functional group – the quaternized nitrogen – and a negative functional group – a carboxylate, phosphate, or a sulfate functional group able to carry a negative charge in neutral or alkaline conditions. Believe it or not,...