Surfactants Chemistry for Hygiene and Personal Care Products

A surfactant refers to a surface-active agent,and is a chemical which when dissolved in another solvent aligns itself at the boundary of liquid and thestain molecules to alter the characteristics of the interface.It is on this background that surfactants have gained widespread usage as cleaning and emulsifying agents in household and industrial applications.

Surfactants Action

In operation, the surfactants have a long non-polar side of the molecule attracted to the oil /dirt/greasewhile the other end is attracted to water. The molecules line up on the dirt interface and surround the dirt to the point it is dislodgedfrom the cloth material or stained surface and becomes suspended in solution. Most soap’s are surfactants in nature and have greater usage since they are mild to the skin.

With advanced chemical engineering,surfactants have been modified to be able to clean effectively under a variety ofconditions. This has made them more preferred to all other types of cleaning agents. These products have lesser sensitivity on the skin and are used in more specialized cleaning applications.

Other Uses of Surfactants

Apart from hygienic purposes, the surfactants have other major uses. They have widespread usage as wetter’s, emulsifiers and dispersants in different industrial functions.  They are also important in petroleum exploration, oil recovery and transportation of oil.

Ethoxylation Process

This is a chemical reaction where ethylene oxide is added to a substrate to impart the desired chemical properties. This reaction involves introduction of epoxides to substrates for production of surfactants.  Alcohols and phenols are converted to alcohol ethoxylatesand ethoxysulfates ,surfactants which are globally used in manufacture of cosmetics and specialty  cleaning products.

Several innovative surfactants found exclusively from Rimpro Company India include Fatty alcohol ethoxylate, Fatty Acid ethoxylate, Fatty Amines ethoxylate, AlkylphenolEthoxylate, polyethylene glycols, and oil emulsifiers.

Anionic Surfactants

They aresurfactants, where the hydrophilic group carries a negative charge. They are best in maintaining the dirt away from the material once it has been dislodged thus effective cleaning agents.

Advantages of Surfactants over Soaps

One disadvantage of soaps is that they developinto insolublesalts of calcium and magnesium when used with hard water or in the dirt particles. This leads to wastage and poor cleaning process.Synthetic anionic surfactants on the other hand replace the carboxylate group with the sulfonate or sulphate group to achieve greater effectiveness.

Self-Emulsifying waxes

The manufacture of personal care products involves use of special cleaning and skin protection products. Emulsifying waxes is a recognized emulsifying ingredient in cosmetics developed from either vegetable wax or wax extracted from petroleum. The basic wax is treated with additive that creates its ability to emulsify water and oil molecules into a smooth emulsion.

The cosmetic self-emulsifying wax is non-ionicand mild in action therefore have been preferred in manufacture of cosmetic gels, lotions and creams. Shampoos are effective hair and skin cleaning agents due to their ability to dislodge grease and oily particles stuck to the skin and hair. This product has a proven safety record in usage. The presence of these self-emulsifying waxes in cosmetics helps better oil absorption into the skin keeping it moist and wet.