Shampoos/Body Wash & other surfactant based cleansers

In the competitive world of body & hair cleansing, delivering additional benefits or unique appearance are a frequent means of product differentiation. This often involves the suspension of a dispersed phase or maintaining discrete water phases within a single pack product. Although many clever techniques have been devised for accomplishing the above, the use of yield stress to effectively “freeze” the formulation at a resting state is the most common technique. Many additives are known for generating yield stress in aqueous phased formulations, but the presence of surfactants often interferes with the simple additive approach. In this regard, clay is little different.

To contend with surfactant interference, binary blends of clay and polymer can work together to provide the necessary yield stress. To ensure sufficient hydrodynamic expansion, an anionic polymer is much preferred. Clay is then used to effectively crosslink the expanded polymer in solution. By crosslinking the polymer, a true network is formed. It is the network that provides the yield stress for suspension and water-in-water phase stability.

When optical clarity is required to maximize the visual affect of the final product, the combination of a highly surfactant compatible polymers (such as HASE polymers) and our Laponite® is a practical alternative. With limited aggregation of the polymer and the small particle size of Laponite®, light scattering can be eliminated resulting in a sparkling clear surfactant system with excellent yield stress.

The combination of clay and polymer based rheology for surfactant systems spans the mix of product categories to include hand cleansers, shampoo, 2:1 shampoos, body wash and shower gels and facial cleansers. Clay and polymer combinations also find a home in hair styling applications. The use of clay in styling products can provide a desirable gel structure for visual appearance in the package, as well as serving to mechanically reinforce the styling polymer. Mechanical reinforcement can add to the holding power of the polymer and aid in reduction of moisture sensitivity. Laponite® has been used with the full range of newer generation synthetic and natural based styling polymers.

Formularies - Select below.

antidandruff shampoo

Daily Hair Conditioner

Spray Leave-In Conditioner