1.Surfactant
There are many types of surfactants. Ranked by their output, they are: anionic surfactants account for 56%, non-ionic surfactants account for 36%, amphoteric surfactants account for 5%, and cationic surfactants account for 3%.
2.Non-ionic surfactant
The main types of non-ionic surfactants include alkylolamides (FFA), fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ethers (AE), and alkylphenol polyoxyethylene ethers (APE or OP). Non-ionic surfactants possess excellent properties such as solubilization, detergency, antistatic effects, low irritation, and calcium soap dispersion. They can be applied over a wider pH range compared to general ionic surfactants. Except for detergency and foaming properties, their other performances are often superior to general anionic surfactants. Experiments have shown that adding a small amount of non-ionic surfactants to ionic surfactants can enhance the surface activity of the system when comparing systems with the same active ingredient content.
Alkylolamides are a type of non-ionic surfactant with superior performance, wide applications, and high frequency of use, commonly found in various liquid detergents. The commonly used specifications of alkylolamides in liquid detergents are “2:1 amide” and “1.5:1 amide”, and “1:1 amide” can also be used. These three specifications exhibit different performances in terms of water solubility and thickening properties. Generally speaking, “1.5:1 amide” is more moderate and is widely used in dishwashing liquids. Under normal circumstances, “1:1 amide” is easy to dissolve only when used in combination with other water-soluble surfactants. Alkylolamides are more suitable for alkaline detergents and can also be used in general weakly acidic detergents. Alkylolamides are the cheapest among non-ionic surfactants, with a price of 7,800 yuan/ton in 2002. Alkylolamides are used more frequently than fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene alcohols in liquid detergents. The non-ionic surfactants used in shampoos are often alkylolamides. The reasons may be as follows: FFA has better or more comprehensive functions than AE; the price of FFA products is lower than that of AE; the solubility of FFA is better than that of AE; and the foaming property of FFA is better than that of AE.
2.Cationic surfactant
Common varieties of cationic surfactants include cetyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (1631), octadecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (1831), cationic guar gum (C-14S), cationic panthenol, cationic silicone oil, dodecyl dimethyl amine oxide (OB-2), and so on. Unlike other surfactants, cationic surfactants have poor detergency and foaming properties, and often have a certain degree of irritating toxicity (low). In liquid detergents, cationic surfactants are used as auxiliary surfactants — conditioning agents with very small amounts in formulations; they are generally used in higher-grade products, mainly in shampoos. Cationic surfactants are not directly compatible with anionic surfactants. Although there is a possibility of good results when cations and anions are compatible, there is a high risk of precipitation (crystallization). There are many varieties of cationic surfactants used in shampoos, and their usage frequency is relatively scattered — not concentrated on one or two varieties, and they are often formulated into conditioning agent products. The output share of cationic surfactants among surfactants is small, and their prices are often more expensive than other types of surfactants. Compared with various types of surfactants, cationic surfactants have the most prominent conditioning effect and the strongest bactericidal effect; despite their disadvantages such as poor detergency, poor foaming, poor compatibility, high irritation, and high price, they cannot be replaced by other types of surfactants as conditioning agents in high-grade liquid detergent shampoos. It is worth noting that cationic surfactants can only be used as conditioning agents or bactericides.
Post time: Feb-02-2026