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The 2025 edition of Paris Packaging Week!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009Cosmetics glossary

Surfactant

© Liv Friis Larsen - Fotolia.com

Ingredient which reduces the surface tension and favoures a uniform distribution of product during its use.

Reading time
~ 2 minutes

A great many surfactants also play the role of emulsifiers or foaming agents and we most often find them in shower gels, shampoos or shaving creams. We classify them into 4 main categories: anionic, cationic, amphoteric and non-ionic.
Based upon their origins, surfactants can be more or less foaming… and more or less irritating . The cationic and anionic surfactants are reputed to be the most irritating , whereas the amphoteric and non-ionic surfactants are the most tolerated by the epidermis .

Among surfactants :
• Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
• Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
• Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside
• Cetyl Betaine
• Cocamidopropyl Betaine
• Coco-Betaine
• Coco-Glucoside
• Decyl Glucoside
• Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate
• Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
• Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate
• Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate
• Glycol Stearate
• Lauramidopropyl Betaine
• PEG-100 Stearate
• Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
• Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
• Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
• Sodium Laureth Sulfate
• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
• Sodium Palm Kernelate …

© 2009 - 2024  CosmeticOBS

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