Silicone deposition from the formulation with Surfactant “B” containing large silicone particles shows a similar trend as the formulation with Surfactant “A” (Figs. 2 & 3). However, the relative amount of silicone deposited onto European brown hair from surfactant “B” is much lower than from surfactant “A”. This demonstrates that different surfactant system can significantly change the silicone deposition process.


Data suggests that deposition of silicone from silicone-containing shampoos onto the hair is a very complex process. Many factors, such as silicone droplet size, types of cationic polymer, surfactant system and hair type can greatly affect the deposition process. The general trend of silicone deposition with different silicone particle sizes and different molecular weight of cationic HEC polymer is summarised in Figure 4.


In general, deposition of larger particle size silicone is greatly enhanced by lower molecular weight HEC, whereas deposition of smaller particle size silicone is greatly enhanced by higher molecular weight HEC. One of the major roles of cationic HEC in a conditioning shampoo is to control the amount of silicone deposition in order to maintain a desired overall conditioning performance. Thus, formulators are able to maximise the performance of their shampoo formulation with the careful selection of the appropriate silicone particle size and cationic polymer structure combination.


source from https://www.personalcaremagazine.com