There are basically two types of hair care products on the market today: shampoos and conditioners. The shampoo is a surfactant, which determines the cleaning effect of a shampoo, and also affects most of its effects. If you have some knowledge of common actives, you can get a ton of information just by looking at the ingredient list on the ingredient list when purchasing.

Surfactants have been widely used in the cosmetic industry. As an auxiliary material, although the amount used is small, the effect is very significant. Its role in cosmetics is diverse, its role is: emulsification, washing, foaming, solubilizing four main functions.

Main function of surfactant in shampoo:

Main function 1. Emulsification reaction

We all know that the creams, lotions, shampoos and other cosmetics we use every day are composed of oil and water, but we cannot see the oil and water in them. This is because they form a very uniform dispersion system, oily substances can be dispersed in water like tiny water droplets, or in oily substances like water, we call it oil-in-water, and oil-in-water Water is a very common cosmetic. The mixture of oily ingredients and water in emulsions such as creams and lotions is composed of surfactants, which have a unique structure and can evenly mix oily and water-soluble mixtures together to form a A relatively stable decentralized system. Therefore, the creams, lotions and shampoos we use every day contain surfactants.

Main function 2, washing and foaming

Some surfactants have good effects on cleaning and foaming. For example, soap is a very common surfactant. The ingredients (surfactants) of soap and soap are used for cleaning and foaming. Some facial cleansers are The ingredients of soap are used to clean and foam, but the cleaning ability of soap is relatively strong, which can easily lead to degreasing of the skin, and it is also relatively irritating, so dry skin and sensitive skin cannot use this type of skin cleansing products. In addition, it plays a role in cleaning and foaming in products such as body wash, shampoo, hand soap, and toothpaste.

Main function 3. Solubility

Surfactants can increase the solubility of some insoluble water, so that they are fully soluble in water, and finally form a transparent state. This effect is called "solubilization", and the substances that play a role in solubilization are also referred to as "solubilizers". For example, we hope to add an oily ingredient with a good moisturizing effect to the transparent lotion, but it will not dissolve in water, but will be suspended on the surface of the lotion in a tiny oily state. However, it must be pointed out that there is a limit to the amount of oil that can be dissolved by solubilizing, and it is difficult for more oil components to be fully dissolved in water by the solubilizing method. Therefore, when the oily ingredients increase, the amount of surfactant must be increased to emulsify the oily ingredients with water. Therefore, some shampoos are opaque and milky white because they contain a lot of emollient oils and are mixed with water by the surfactants. emulsification.

In addition to choosing the right shampoo for hair care, you should also pay attention to your diet. Eat more animal livers, fish, oranges, carrots, mushrooms, eggplants, celery, oats, etc. These foods are rich in vitamin B, which helps hair follicles absorb nutrients.