Silicones in Hair Care: Making Innovative Solutions Possible

Posted: May 23, 2007

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Silicone elastomers offer the recognized properties of silicones, including reduced combing force; enhanced wet slip; soft, silky and dry feel; and reduced drying times. They can also be used to provide thermal protection, protection from color loss in semi-permanent and permanent colorants and improved hair volume.

Silicone Emulsions Make Formulating Easy
Easy, efficient formulating can be aided by silicones delivered in emulsion form, an approach that facilitates incorporation of potentially incompatible ingredients. It also allows simple pouring and mixing, as part of cold processes or with the addition of heat. Developments in emulsions and microemulsions capitalize on the properties of various families of silicones.

Amodimethicone and dimethyl emulsions offer the same benefits of fluids, with the added advantage of easy handling in aqueous systems. These emulsions provide the recognized soft and dry feel of silicone, as well as shine and a range of conditioning levels. When supplied as microemulsions, they can be incorporated into clear products.

Quaternary silicone emulsions can also offer new formulating options such as protection from heat, improved color retention, and enhanced body and volume. The quaternary ammonium functionality provides excellent wet and dry detangling, combing and feel properties. In microemulsion form, a product of this type can be used to create opaque and clear formulations for rinse-off and leave-on conditioners, shampoos and styling aids.

Summary and Conclusions
Consumer demand for hair care products goes beyond traditional washing and conditioning, and in response, chemical companies are creating new, high-performance silicone materials. These versatile and innovative ingredients are designed to treat hair damage caused by heat and color treatments, daily grooming and the environment — as well as to respond to today’s style trends. Recent studies also demonstrate that silicones can enhance hair strength, offering additional specialized solutions.