The Function of Surfactants in Cosmetics

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The Function of Surfactants in Cosmetics
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Solubilization

• The effect of increasing the solubility of a
  sparingly soluble or insoluble substance is
  referred to as solubilization. In cosmetics,
  solubilizers are mainly used in the production of
  lotions, hair oils, and hair conditioners. Due to
  the difference in structure and polarity of oily
  ingredients such as perfumes, oils and
  oil-soluble vitamins in cosmetics, their
  solubilizers are also different. For example, the
  solubilizing object of the lotion is a fragrance,
  an oil, a chemical, etc., and thus the
  solubilizing agent may be alkyl polyoxyethylene
  ether. In addition, castor oil-based amphoteric
  derivatives have excellent solubility for perfume
  oils and vegetable oils, and such surfactants are
  non-irritating to the eyes, so they are suitable
  for the preparation of non-irritating shampoos.

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Emulsification

• The phenomenon in which the water-insoluble
  substance is emulsified in water to form an
  emulsion is called emulsification. Emulsifiers
  are mainly used in cosmetics to produce creams
  and lotions. Common vanishing creams are O/W
  emulsions. Due to the low irritation of nonionic
  emulsifiers, they are currently the most widely
  used emulsifiers.

4
Dispersion

• The phenomenon in which the non-aqueous substance
  forms fine particles in water and is uniformly
  dispersed is called dispersion. The dispersion
  system of the cosmetic includes powders, solvents
  and dispersing agents. Powders can be divided
  into inorganic pigments (such as talc, mica,
  titanium dioxide and carbon black) and organic
  pigments. Their function is mainly to make
  cosmetics have good color and good sunscreen
  effect. Solvents are classified into water and
  non-water. The dispersing agent as a medium has
  two types of hydrophilicity and lipophilicity.
  And the dispersing agents are mainly classified
  into hydrophilic dispersing agents and lipophilic
  dispersing agents. Many surfactants used in
  dispersants are both emulsifiers and dispersants.
  In order to sufficiently disperse the powder in
  the liquid, it is necessary to make the liquid
  wet the surface of the powder well, so the HLB of
  the powder surface and the dispersion medium
  should first be considered when selecting the
  surfactant.

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Cleaning

• Cleaning products mainly include shampoo, shower
  gel and facial cleanser. In addition to their
  cleansing, foaming and wetting functions, these
  products must also be mild to the skin.
  Therefore, the surfactant used for cleaning must
  not damage the epidermal cells, does not
  penetrate into the skin, and keeps the skin in a
  normal state. Anionic surfactants have been used
  for cleaning for a long time. The detergency of
  soap is unmatched by other detergents. Sodium
  lauryl sulfate is a commonly used raw material in
  the cleaning cosmetics, which can achieve a good
  cleaning effect on the skin. Amphoteric
  surfactants such as imidazoline, cocamidopropyl
  betaine and amino acids are mild cleansing
  surfactants and are an indispensable component in
  the formulation of facial cleansers, shampoos and
  baby shampoos.

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Softening

• Cationic surfactants have good softening and
  antistatic properties and are therefore the main
  conditioning agents in hair care products such as
  hair conditioners. The most commonly used
  cationic surfactants are the monoalkyl and
  dialkyl quaternary ammonium salts such as the
  C16-18 monoalkylamine salt, the double C16-18
  alkyl quaternary ammonium salt and the
  alkylbenzyl quaternary ammonium salt.

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Wetting and penetration

• Cosmetics must not only have cosmetic effects,
  but also give people a comfortable and soft
  feeling when used, and these effects are
  inseparable from the moisturizing effect of
  surfactants. As a main component of biological
  cells, phospholipids play an important role in
  the metabolism of cell and permeability mediation
  of cell membrane, and have good moisturizing and
  penetration effect to the skin. The sophorolipid
  biosurfactant has a peculiar affinity for the
  skin, which makes the skin feel soft and moist.
  Biochemical active substances, vitamin
  derivatives, enzyme preparations, cell growth
  factors (EGF, DFGF), collagen, elastin, ceramide
  and hyaluronic acid can be prepared by
  biochemical synthesis and they can be used in
  cosmetics. These substances can penetrate into
  the skin, participate in the metabolism of skin
  cells, change the structure of the skin to
  achieve anti-wrinkle, anti-aging and whitening
  effects.