Make a sustainable difference. Non-quat hair conditioning technology

Hair care as a category has been relatively constant for many decades and lagged behind others in the trend of natural, clean, and green beauty. Consumers are hungry for innovation and the hair care market is gearing up for a big change. Across categories, the ingredients that will sustain for decades to come are those with exceptional environmental profiles and consumer perceivable benefits. These ingredients must lend themselves to clean beauty consumers, natural beauty consumers, green / eco-focused consumers, and the natural-when-convenient consumer alike. Specifically in the hair conditioning space, the current leading conditioning agents on the market, namely quaternary surfactants, do not comply with this future sustainable ingredient profile.

This article will explore why consumers are starting to reject quaternary conditioning agents, or “quats”, and introduce hair care technologies that deliver on sustainability as well as performance. 

Why Challenge The Hair Care Status Quo? 

Quaternary surfactants, commonly referred to as “quats”, are used extensively in hair care for their properties as anti-static and conditioning agents. The most widely used hair care quats include behentrimonium chloride, cetrimonum chloride, and behentromonium methosulfate. These “quats” consist of a long carbon chain tail groups and a cationically charged head group which are both critical to performance on hair. However, the cationic head group of quats is a permanently charged group that presents a multitude of negative effects that are no longer acceptable to consumers: skin or scalp irritation, classification as a serious eye irritant,  toxicity to aquatic life (fish, daphnids, and algae), and persistence in water sediment. The latter is compounded by a resistance to biodegradation. They are also derived from petrochemical sources and a 100% renewable version of a quat is not available.

Based on the way that other categories of ingredients have been “phased-out” by the conscious consumer (think parabens, phthalates, and increasingly PEGs and silicones), we have good reason to believe quats are the next to be brought into the limelight. The attention will not bode well for quats due to their combined less-than-desirable

 

How do we move the industry forward?

It’s clear that the hair conditioning industry needs a revolution to stay ahead of consumer demands. To avoid falling prey to a consumer-led or regulation-led push, as we saw with parabens and cyclomethicones, respectively, it is critical to develop responsible new technologies that resolve these known safety & environmental issues. INOLEX consciously designs cosmetic ingredients through the guidance of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. These principles result in life cycle thinking, i.e. the conscious consideration of all aspects of the life of an ingredient from feedstock sourcing, to efficient reactions, to end of life. Extensive research and development in hair conditioning has yielded two interesting innovations. A sustainable amidoamine and novel aminolipid technology. 

How do we move the industry forward?

It’s clear that the hair conditioning industry needs a revolution to stay ahead of consumer demands. To avoid falling prey to a consumer-led or regulation-led push, as we saw with parabens and cyclomethicones, respectively, it is critical to develop responsible new technologies that resolve these known safety & environmental issues. INOLEX consciously designs cosmetic ingredients through the guidance of the 12 Principles of Green Chemistry. These principles result in life cycle thinking, i.e. the conscious consideration of all aspects of the life of an ingredient from feedstock sourcing, to efficient reactions, to end of life. Extensive research and development in hair conditioning has yielded two interesting innovations. A sustainable amidoamine and novel aminolipid technology. 

The first invention: ProCondition 22

Brassicamidopropyl dimethylamine (ProCondition 22) is a non-quat conditioning technology with an industry-leading sustainability profile and improved performance compared to traditional conditioners. Derived from the sustainable plant-feedstock Brassica Napus seed oil, it contains 83% certified biobased content. There are improved benefits throughout the lifecycle of the material and specific to the constraints with quats, the ProCondition 22 non-quat technology is non-toxic to aquatic life and readily biodegradable. 

The performance of ProCondition 22 is comparable to quats and other amidoamine conditioning agents with wet combing and superior in dry combing and reduction of flyaways.

The Breakthrough Innovation: AminoSensyl™ HC

The most recent non-quat innovation is a novel amino lipid technology, AminoSensyl HC. This 100% plant-based conditioner rivals its partially-renewable counterparts in performance and is the market leader in renewable content, consumer safety, and environmental impact. AminoSensyl HC contains 100% biobased content, is readily biodegradable, COSMOS approved, non-toxic to aquatic life, nonpersistent in water sediment, and non-irritating to skin, scalp, and eyes. The performance benefits include traditional wet and dry combing conditioning performance with additional demonstrated benefits of curl retention, strengthening hair to resist breakage, and creating a smooth and defined appearance on all hair types.

With more sustainable and better performing conditioners, rejecting the status quo is easy. Your customers and the planet will thank you.

 

https://inolex.com/pc/Products/Conditioning/Sustainable-Natural-Hair-Care

https://inolex.com/pc/Products/All-Products/Conditioning-Ingredients/ProCondition-22

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