Teach Soap

My rep brought me some Quartamin-60 (cetrimonium chloride) so I used it to make a conditioner. It turned out really well; In use it actually made a creamy foam like a thick shampoo despite the fact it has no surfactants added. I used this light quat and a second, heavier quat based on lanolin (Dehyquart-60)
This mix is very concentrated, just a small amount is plenty. It's a thick white cream in appearance.

Here's the formula:

1. Quartamin 60 - 15%
2. Dehyquart 60 - 7.5%
3. jojoba oil - 1.5%
4. avocado oil - 1.5%
5. vitamin E - 1.5%
6. panthenol - 3%
7. cetyl alcohol - 6%
8. glycerine - 6%
9. preservative - 0.5%
10. fragrance - 1%
11. keratin - 6%
12. water - 50.5%

At 6% glycerin, do you find it sticky?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

No, not at all. It leaves the hair smooth and shiny. I think if I was designing a 2-1 shampoo I would start at this point and just add an amphoteric surfactant such as sodium cocoamphoacetate and some betaine. (no anionics of course, they are incompatible with cationics)
Maybe a bit less cetyl alc. - it's a bit too thick.
I used chocolate fragrance but 1% wasn't enough to really give much of an aroma. Not very impressed with chocolate fragrance.

I don't have some of the ingredients, so I will live vicariously through your experiments.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Wow, the cetrimonium chloride I have is a clear liquid, a little viscous. It has a max usage of 5%. It makes a great detangling agent supposedly.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

That's the stuff, all right.
Basically what happened was, I made it first with the quats at 5% and 2.5% as recommended but then, it is about 80% water and it is a 'big bottle' conditioner. My wife showed me a tube of hair conditioner that came with a hair colouring kit, and it was obviously way more concentrated. So, I just reduced the water content from 80% to 50% which of course increases all the rest. It is now, though, super concentrated and a little goes a long way.

I think I will decrease the cetyl alc to 3% though. It is rather too thick for comfort.

Hestey, since you have some cetrimonium chloride, you could try it with some quality oils - it emulsifies the oils wonderfully well - add some glycerin, water, preservative, fragrance, colour, and you've got it. Stuff like the keratin and panthenol is just extra goodies.

Oh I wouldn't dare use a conditioner with oils on my scalp. I have one of those scalps that gets super oily super fast, I suspect the eczema is part of the reason. Might try one with oils for my Mom and Husband though!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist