Introduction to Surfactants and Emulsifiers

Terminology and classifications of surface active agents including emulsifiers, solubilizers, and super fatting agents within the personal care industry.

Surfactant (General Chemistry Definition)

A surface active agent composed of an oil-loving portion and a water-loving portion.

Emulsifier

A sub-class of surfactants used specifically to form creams and lotions (emulsions).

Surfactant (Personal Care Sub-class)

The specific term used in the cosmetic industry for materials that form bubbles and clean effectively.

Solubilizer

A material that enables the solubilization of a very small amount of oily substance in a continuous water phase.

Super Fatting Agent

A water-loving and oil-loving material added to foaming products to provide conditioning, emolliency, and mildness without impacting foam performance.

Stearic Acid

A material with a polar head and oil-loving tail that preferentially forms oil-in-water emulsions.

Cetearyl Alcohol

A commonly used oil-in-water emulsifier, referred to in the transcript also by the INCI name soteric alcohol.

Sucrose Stearate

An ester-based oil-in-water emulsifier featuring a large water-loving sugar portion and a hydrocarbon chain.

Glyceryl Stearate

An ester that functions as a water-in-oil emulsifier.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine

A surfactant used for cleaning and creating bubbles, featuring strong water-loving heads and a relatively small hydrocarbon tail.

Polysorbate 20

An ethoxylated solubilizer with a very large water-loving head that allows it to mix small amounts of oil into water.

Ethoxylation

A chemical process that adds synthetic portions to a substance to make it more water-loving.

$1,4$-dioxane

A byproduct of ethoxylation that must be removed from cosmetic ingredients to levels less than $10\,\text{ppm}$.

Anionic

Negatively charged surfactants or emulsifiers, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, which possess strong surface activity.

Cationic

Positively charged surfactants or emulsifiers, commonly used in the form of waxy solids to create hair conditioners.

Nonionic

Surfactants or emulsifiers that have no net charge.

Amphoteric

A special class of surfactants that can be used to boost foam performance and significantly increase the mildness of a formulation.