Surfactant

Surfactant is a term formed from the words "Surface active agent," which means an ingredient that lowers the surface tension of a liquid. It contributes to the spreadability of creams, detergency, foam boosting of cleansing applications, and emulsifying, dispersing, solubilizing, and hydrotrope properties.

Formulating consumer-pleasing rinse-off products is a fairly complex task. A number of variables need to be taken into account to create the performance you need with the sensory characteristics consumers want - foam boosting and stabilization, viscosity, rheology, cleansing, feel and conditioning, and solubilization of actives and fragrances. All of these factors are created – or affected – by the choice of surfactants for a product. It's no news that each choice has strengths and drawbacks that must be compensated for to achieve optimum results.

Modern surfactants are developed from a combination of chemistries and tailored to meet the needs of today's market and manufacturing environment. They provide excellent foam stability while at the same time providing industry-benchmark thickening performance. These ingredients demonstrate the rheological properties that contribute to an excellent shear-thinning formulation, allowing the formulation of high-viscosity products that flow effortlessly from the bottle and on application.

Some surfactants are cold-processable and extremely effective solubilizers of fragrances and actives, producing crystal-clear end formulations in various applications. These performance properties are enhanced by excellent after-feel and a very low irritation profile, which enhance consumers' sensory experience.

They make formulating tasks significantly simpler, allowing the number of ingredients used in a formulation to be reduced, manufacturing costs to be lowered, and irritancy potential to be reduced.