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Trying to avoid SLS and other harsh surfactants in your cosmetics? There are many mild, natural surfactants available. Learn about the different types of natural surfactants, with a list of my favorites.
There are many types of surfactants and they are used for many different purposes, but they all share one quality: they help increase the wetting properties of a liquid. Surfactants can be found almost everywhere. You can find them in everything from detergents and shampoos to toothpaste and even conditioners.
(A surfactant,) also called surface-active agent, (is a ) substance such as a detergent that, when added to a liquid, reduces its surface tension, thereby increasing its spreading and wetting properties. (Encyclopaedia Britannica)
Some surfactants are emulsifiers, others are foaming agents (and some may actually do the opposite of those functions). Some act as detergents, while others act as insecticides or fungicides. Some help with solubilizing (small amounts of oils into water, for example) and others help increase viscosity.
Surfactants affect the surface tension of liquids to increase wetting.
Normally, when you spray water on a surface like a window, rather than spread evenly over the surface, the water will bead up. That&#;s because of the surface tension of the water. The molecules of the water come together in a stable configuration and are attracted to each other. When you are trying to clean that window, though, that beading isn&#;t helping you. You want the water to spread evenly over the surface to better clean it. You also want something that can grab onto the grease and dirt on whatever surface you are trying to clean.
Surfactants affect the surface tension that is making the water bead up rather than spread out. They have a water-loving head and an fat (oil) loving tail. They come together in structures called micelles.
The structure of a type of micelle.I already explained a bit about how the micelles in surfactants work in my micellar water recipe, but for those who haven&#;t read that post, let me give you a quick, simplified explanation. The water-loving heads of the micelles bond with the water while the oil-loving tails on the inside of the micelles bond with the grease and grime. That pulls the grease and grime into the center of the micelles out of contact with the water, making them easier to rinse away.
You&#;ll also find that hot water helps clean better because the hot water helps melt the fats which makes it easier for them to be brought into the micelles.
There are four main types of surfactants, each behaving somewhat differently, and some with completely different functions. The detergent-like surfactants tend to be the anionic, non-ionic and amphoteric surfactants. Some cationic surfactants are used as emulsifiers and are great for hair conditioners. (I use BTMS, a cationic surfactant, in my hair conditioner recipe.)
These are classified based on the charge of the polar head of the surfactant which can have a positive charge (cationic), a negative charge (anionic), or no charge (non-inonic). Amphoteric surfactants have both a cationic and anionic part attached to the same molecule.
Natural surfactants can be derived from many types of plants. Common sources are coconut or palm, but they can also be derived from other types of fruits and vegetables.
There are many natural surfactants on the market today, and with increased consumer demand, I imagine that many more will be available in time. I have tried many of them, but today I&#;ll focus on some of my favorites. I like these surfactants because they are gentle, they tend to be easier to find, and they work well together. You can use these in everything from gentle shampoos to shower gels, facial cleanser, and baby washes.
Keep in mind that many of these surfactants are not palm free, so you&#;ll want to source them from places that allow for sustainable methods of obtaining their materials. I buy surfactants that have been certified sustainable by RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) standards.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these surfactants can differ from manufacturer to manufacturer. The names are polymeric and aren&#;t referring to an exact structure. Some places will use different plants as the origin of elaborating each surfactant, and the way each surfactant cleans, solubilizes, etc. can vary depending on where you buy it from. I&#;ll be describing these surfactants based on my suppliers, but you&#;ll want to check on the specifications of the surfactant you are buying if it&#;s important to you to know what plants have been used to derive them, the pH, the concentration, etc. Use this list as a general guideline!
Along those lines, while mine are listed as ECOCERT approved, that may also be dependent upon the manufacturer of each surfactant.
I&#;ll be updating this list and adding more surfactants as I use them and learn more about them. For now, though, this should give you a good starting point to understanding what we are going to be working with.
Coco Glucoside is a non-ionic surfactant that is obtained from coconut oil and fruit sugars, but it can also be obtained from either potato or corn. It is a very gentle, foamy cleanser and is completely biodegradable. You can use it in products that you want to have an ECOCERT certification. It has an alkaline pH (around 12) which makes it self-preserving as is, but you will probably have to adjust the final pH of products using it to pull it into a range more suitable for your skin or hair (and you&#;ll need to add a preservative).
Decyl Glucoside is very similar to coco glucoside (non-ionic and ECOCERT compatible), but it has a shorter chain length. It creates less foam (its foam is less stable) than coco glucoside but it does add more viscosity to a product. It is derived from coconut oil and glucose and is completely biodegradable. It can be used in all sorts of shampoos, gels, baby products, etc.
Lauryl Glucoside is very similar to the other 2 glucosides I&#;ve mentioned. It has a longer chain length and more viscosity. It takes longer to foam than the other two, but it also has the most stable foam. While it is also a mild cleanser, it isn&#;t as mild as the other 2 alkyl polyglucosides.
Comparing the alkyl polyglucosides. I bought the Lauryl Glucosde from a different supplier, so that may also be a factor in the huge difference in appearance. You&#;ll notice the Lauryl Glucoside I bought was relatively solid, and I had to dilute it quite a bit to be able to use it.Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate is a gentle anionic surfactant that can be used in natural products (ECOCERT). It is a great alternative to SLS for a milder, more natural shampoo (or body wash, etc.). It has larger molecules than some of the other surfactants (like SLS) making it unable to penetrate and irritate the skin in the same way. It cleans and provides foam in products made for people with sensitive skin.
Notice
It has been pointed out to me that the EWG rating for Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate has been raised due to the concern that it may be contaminated with ethylene oxide or 1,4 dioxane during the production of this surfactant. It is still generally allowed in natural formulations because it is a mild surfactant. Use personal judgment on whether you feel comfortable using it or not.
Coco betaine is a coconut based amphoteric surfactant. It&#;s mild and can help boost foam and increase the viscosity of products made with it. It&#;s very mild and provides for gentle cleansing. It&#;s completely biodegradable and has a pH around 6-8. It is also ECOCERT compatible so it can be used in the elaboration of &#;natural&#; and &#;organic&#; type products.
Sodium coco sulfate is an anionic surfactant that is ECOCERT and BDIH friendly. It has a pH of 10-11 and is derived from coconut oil. It is a water-soluble surfactant that is sold in solid form. It&#;s usually used in non-soap shampoo bars and/or bar cleaners (syndet bars).
Plantapon SF is a mix of vegetable-based surfactants (coconut, corn, and palm based) that can be used in a variety of gentle cleansing products like shampoos, shower gels, and facial cleansers. It includes sodium cocoamphoacetate, lauryl glucoside, sodium cocoyl glutamate, sodium lauryl glucose carboxylate, and glycerin. It has a pH between 6.5 and 7.5.
Because this is a mix of surfactants, it can be a good choice for those who are just delving into working with surfactants. You can easily mix up formulations without needing to buy a lot of raw materials or doing a lot of work. (I&#;ll work on getting up some recipes that use this as soon as I can.)
Soap nuts and a soap nut solution.While not as effective as the other more processed surfactants derived from natural sources, those looking for a completely natural alternative may be interested in studying some of these natural surfactants. These plant based cleansers all have natural saponins that are a type of non-ionic surfactant. They can be used alone or combined with the other surfactants for a more effective final product.
The fruits taken from the sapindus trees/shrubs from the lychee family have saponins which are natural non-ionic surfactants. They are usually called either soap nuts or soap berries, and they clean without creating much foam.
You can either throw a cloth bag of them in with your laundry to naturally wash your clothes, or you can steep them in warm water to extract a liquid that can be used for cleaning. Make just enough for what you&#;ll need and you can freeze the rest.
Liquid yucca extract is a natural non-ionic surfactant that comes from the yucca plant, a desert plant that has natural saponins of its own. While you can add it to your homemade shampoos, yucca extract is also used in gardening to help get nutrients to the roots of other plants by washing away concentrated salts that build up.
Shikakai powder is another plant with natural saponins which are natural non-ionic surfactants. It is normally used in hair care as a very natural &#;shampoo.&#; It naturally has a low pH which makes it ideal for hair care. It&#;s said to be good for all hair types, especially those that are prone to breakage and damage. Like with the other natural surfactants, you can either combine it with other surfactants or use it on its own. To use it on its own, you make a paste by mixing the powder with warm water and running it through your wet hair once it the paste has cooled. You then leave it to act for 10-15 minutes before rinsing it out. It may slightly darken hair.
Soapwort is another plant that has been used for many years as a soap alternative. It can be used to clean the skin, wash your hair, or even as a laundry soap. It&#;s especially good for delicate fabrics. To use soapwort, you need to make an infusion of the soapwort in water, and then you can use the resulting liquid as a liquid soap alternative.
This week we are leading into a new blog series, on all the things you can make with surfactants. I&#;ve gone through a real phase of fascination with these foamy DIY friends, but thought it would be helpful to first explain what they are and how they work before diving into recipes.
Surfactants may conjure up a chemically, unnatural image in one&#;s mind, but there are quite a few that are in fact naturally derived and absolutely safe for use in natural products. Natural surfactants are great because they have a huge variety of applications, are biodegradable and environmentally safe, are easily pH adjustable to suit your needs and are gentle and non-irritant. The surfactants we will work with are derived from sustainably sourced plant sugars and enzymes and many are even ECOCERT approved, meaning you can use them to make organic products. Surfactants are used in everything from household cleaners, to shampoos, shower gels and baby washes.
To properly understand surfactants, here is a quick chemistry lesson:
&#;Surfactant&#; is shorthand for &#;surface active agent&#;, and as you may gather from this, they are active on the surface of the water-air/oil interface. Much like soap, surfactants are made up of molecules that are amphiphilic, having both hydrophobic (&#;water-hating&#;; you can also think of them as lipophilic/&#;fat-loving&#;) and hydrophilic (&#;water-loving&#; and &#;fat-hating&#;) ends. Remember that water and oil don&#;t mix so you can think of them essentially as opposites; if one end of the molecule likes water, it simultaneously won&#;t like fats/oils and vice versa. These surfactant molecules position themselves with their hydrophobic ends pointing up and away from the water surface, while their hydrophilic end point into the water (you can picture them as sailboats on the ocean, with the hydrophobic sails in the air and the hydrophilic hull in the water). This breaks the surface tension on the water, making it easier for cleaning to happen, as there is no longer a distinction between the water and oil (ie. they can now mix and spread, aiding in cleaning and washing away).
Another thing to keep in mind is that all molecules have a charge, so surfactant molecules do too. Surfactants are classified as anionic (negative charge), cationic (positive charge) or amphoteric (can be attracted to either positive or negative charge). If there is no charge they are called non-ionic surfactants. You want to generally stick to the rule of like-with-like, so don&#;t go mixing cationic and anionic surfactants as they may not work so well together.
At Essentially Natural we sell only naturally derived, sulfate free products so this excludes most anionic surfactants such as sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate which although lather and clean extremely well, are very harsh. We do stock one anionic liquid surfactant, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, which is naturally derived.
Non-ionic surfactants work well with other surfactants so can be used in blends which are highly effective, but naturally derived.
Amphoteric surfactants are typically used with other surfactants to reduce harshness and support foam.
Here is a quick guide to the surfactants we stock:
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Decyl glucoside - Liquid; non- ionic; pH: 11.5-12.5; active matter: 51%; ECOCERT approved; rich and quick-forming foam, but short lasting; low viscosity.
Coco glucoside - Liquid; non-ionic; pH: 11.5-12.5; active matter: 55%; ECOCERT approved; pearliser/opacifier; has properties in between those of decyl and lauryl glucoside.
Lauryl glucoside - Viscous liquid to paste-like if crystallisation occurs; non-ionic; pH: 12; active matter: 50%; slow forming, but the most stable foam; suitable for higher viscosity products.
Lauryl betaine - Liquid; amphoteric; pH: 5-8; active matter: 28 - 33%. Has antistatic and conditioning properties.
Sodium cocoyl isethionate (better known simply as SCI): anionic, solid surfactant; pH: 5-6.5; active matter: 87%: rich lather with easy and complete rinse-off; excellent tolerance of hard water and leaves no soap scum. Mostly used in shampoo and conditioner bars, and syndet bars.
Sodium C14-16 alpha olefin sulfonate (Hostapur OS liquid): anionic liquid surfactant; pH: 6-8; active matter: 40%; high foam; versatile for use in household cleaners as well as personal care products.
Sodium lauroyl sarcosinate - Liquid; anionic; pH: 8 - 9.3; active matter: 29 - 31%. Typically used as a secondary surfactant and in formulations of pH >6.
Cocamidopropyl betaine - Liquid; amphoteric; pH: 5-6; active matter: 30%. Coco betaine (we will just call it that from now on) is great for supporting other surfactants and lather, and helps bring down pH. It doesn&#;t lather greatly on its own so is most commonly used in conjunction with another surfactant or surfactant blend. It is used on its own when formulating very mild products, such as baby shampoos or for very sensitive skins.
The glucosides are all quite similar to each other, the main molecular difference being the length of their carbon chains. They have slightly varying degrees of foam and longevity, but can generally be substituted for one another in a simple surfactant recipe. If you are making something specific such as a face wash, go for a quick-foaming, low viscosity surfactant such as decyl glucoside, supported with coco betaine. For shampoos, go for a thicker, more stable foamer such as lauryl glucoside, supported with a secondary surfactant and coco betaine.
Active surfactant matter or ASM is the amount of actives/concentration found in the surfactant. You want to know the ASM of your surfactants as they are diluted with water. If cocamidopropyl betaine for instance, has a 30% ASM, then it is made up of 30% actives and 70% water. Products also call for a certain ASM depending on what their use is. If a DIY product calls for 18% ASM then you will need to calculate how much surfactant you need based on which surfactants you choose to use in your formulation.
These are the ASMs of typical products:
Face wash/facial cleanser - 3-10% ASM depending on how gentle you want it to be
Shampoo - 10-15% ASM (higher end for more oily type hair, lower for dry hair types)
Body wash - 15-20% ASM
Bubble bath - 20-25% ASM
The ASMs of our different surfactants are stated with each in the previous section. So now we need to work out how much of each to use. Let&#;s have a gentle face wash of 6.5% ASM as an example:
We are going to choose coco glucoside (ASM 55%), decyl glucoside (ASM 51%), and coco betaine (ASM 30%) as our surfactant blend. The coco glucoside will be our primary surfactant (the one we will use most of in the recipe), with decyl glucoside and coco betaine as secondary surfactants.
So, now we decide on the share of each to use, keeping in mind it must add to 6.5. Let&#;s decide:
Coco glucoside - 3
Decyl glucoside - 2
Cocamidopropyl betaine - 1.5
To calculate the mililitres of each to use, divide the quota of each by its ASM (or convert the percentage into decimal form, whichever is easiest for you):
Coco glucoside: 3/55% = 5.45ml
Decyl glucoside: 2/51% = 3.92ml (can round up to 4ml)
Coco betaine: 1.5/30% = 5ml
And that is your surfactant recipe! Most of the time the exact amounts are provided in recipes, but ASMs are handy things to know how to calculate if you ever want to formulate your own products.
Generally you will want to use a primary surfactant together with secondary surfactants to make a surfactant blend, which is highly effective and balanced. Primary surfactants are typically anionic (but we don&#;t really use these, barring the one exception, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate) or non-ionic, and secondary surfactants will be amphoteric (coco betaine) plus some extra non-ionic surfactants used in low percentages. These secondary surfactants make the primary more mild and support lather ability and consistency of the product.
Tip: if you are making a shampoo or body wash, keep the betaine apart from the other surfactants until last, don&#;t blend them all together. Together they make up a surfactant blend but they are added separately otherwise your final solution may be quite liquidy (it still works perfectly but won&#;t have that nice viscosity typical of a shampoo).
Formulations typically follow a &#;Phase A, B and C&#; incorporation.
Your phase A ingredients are usually aqueous, so water, glycerine, xanthan gum if using plus your preservative (the preservative can also be added right at the end, it doesn&#;t matter. Some find it easier to incorporate into the water phase so it spreads well).
Phase B ingredients will be your surfactant blend, excluding coco betaine if you&#;re making a shower gel, shampoo etc. Add the primary surfactant, then add the secondary non-ionic surfactants one by one, mixing slowly and thoroughly in-between additions.
Phase C will be your amphoteric surfactant (coco betaine) plus other ingredients such as carrier oils, essential oils and conditioning agents such as marshmallow root, other herbs or other natural ingredients.
Blend Phase A into Phase B, then add Phase C last.
Welcome to the world of surfactants! The best way to learn is to experiment, and we will be doing future blogs on the various applications of these super-cool, foamy cleaning agents.
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