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Comparatively Speaking: Cocamide DEA vs. MEA vs. DIPA in Shampoos
By: Anthony J. O'Lenick, Jr., Siltech LLC
Posted: August 25, 2009
Tony O’Lenick asks Bob Coots, PhD, of Colonial Chemical Inc., "What is the difference between cocamide DEA, MEA or DIPA when used in shampoos?" Following is Coots's response.
Chemically, alkanolamides are the reaction product of an alkanolamine such as monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA) or diisopropanolamine (DIPA) and a fatty material such as triglyceride, acid or methyl ester. Their general structures can be represented as:
R-C(O)-NH-CH2CH2OH Cocamide MEA
R-C(O)-N-(CH2CH2OH)2 Cocamide DEA
R-C(O)-NH-CH2CH(CH3)OH Cocamide DIPA
