Vegetable derived ingredients providing care benefits for skin and hair are becoming increasingly important in personal cleansing products. When optimum use is made of these ingredients, the positive effects on skin and hair can actively support marketing claims. Striking the right balance of care ingredients and surfactant base is important to both insure that effective use levels are incorporated into the final product and to avoid an overload of effects that can negatively influence properties such as cleansing, lathering and feel. In this article, we will focus on cleansing applications for hair and will illustrate the care effects provided by esters produced from vegetable raw materials when used as active ingredients in shampoos and conditioners.
Though esters are present as components in a wide variety of consumer products, they are often unnoticed as they accompany us in our daily lives. For example they are involved in forming fragrances and flavors in wines, brandies, and whiskeys in addition to providing nutrition and flavor to many other food products. Esters are also essential ingredients in leave-on cosmetic products for face and body care, and by virtue of their versatility and their natural presence in human skin, ingredients with functional ester-groups provide a wide range of possible applications in personal cleansing products.