Sorption or Binding of Ionic Ingredients to Hair

Hart and Neu have provided a useful beginning to a better understanding of shampoo lather, of lather testing, and of the effects of additives on shampoo lather. However, Hart s lather drainage rates are only one of the important components of shampoo lather that is relevant to the consumer s perception. Lather feel and the rate of lather generation are two other important components of shampoo lather as of this writing, methods for these important lather components have not been described in the scientific literature. 

The approach adopted in this section is to first present a summary of the latest hypothesis on the adsorption of ingredients (surfactants and hair conditioners) to hair followed by a synopsis of the interactions of ionic ingredients of shampoos, conditioners, and ionic dyes with hair and the literature available. Because ionic dyes are sometimes used in sorption studies as model systems for surfactant molecules, some material on the sorption of ionic dyes has been included in this section. 

Overview of the Binding Interactions of Shampoos and Conditioners to Hair 

The major ingredient in most shampoos is anionic surfactant, although other surfactants—thickening agents, lather modifiers, conditioning agents, colors, and fragrance—are also normally present. Most shampoos are 

Creme rinses, on the other hand, are basically compositions containing cationic surfactant in combination with long-chain fatty alcohol or other lipid components. For additional details on product compositions, see the section of this chapter on formulations ( Structures, Formulation, Examples and Making Produces for Shampoo and Conditioning Ingredients ) and consult References 55-57, product ingredient labels, and the books by Hunting [4,5]. 

---