For those of us suffering from oily complexions, skin care can feel like an endless search for grease-busting ingredients that will leave us perfectly mattified and free of shine. Generally speaking, a good cleanser is key when it comes to busting and balancing oil, removing debris that cause pores to clog, and cutting through lipid molecules on the face to reduce overall shine.
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The issue is, many of the conventional cleansers out there rely on a category of ingredients known as surfactants. A shortened form of 'surface active agents,' surfactants in chemically-based synthetic skincare products can leave you with an ultra dry dermis sans its natural protective mechanisms. That said, there are natural surfactants out there, which you'll find on the ingredient lists of natural face cleansers'but you have to know what you're looking for. With a little surfactant mini lesson, you'll be able to recognize the good, the bad, and the drying, and choose your face cleanser accordingly.
What You Should Know About Chemical Surfactants
Chemical surfactants are designed to reduce the surface tension at the juncture between oil molecules and water molecules. As a chemical group, they are both 'hydrophilic' (meaning they can dissolve in water) and 'lipophilic' (meaning they can dissolve in oil). With these properties, they effectively produce the ever-popular 'foaming' effect in a variety of products.
Often taking the form of detergents in everything from dish soap to face wash, they work by drawing oil and water together, such that when the product is rinsed away, the oil is eliminated too. A key point here is that they represent a large group of ingredients in a wide variety of products, so their use and application varies: for some products, they act as a detergent, for others as an emulsifier, for others as a solubilizer. In other words, they're a group of chemicals designed to interface oil with water, within a range of applications.
The Surfactants That You (and Your Skin) Should Steer Clear Of
Specifically, when it comes to surfactants used in cosmetics designed to be applied to the face, there are a few ingredients with ultra harmful side effects.
Sulfates are typically used in foaming and cleansing agents, popular because they're inexpensive and effective at generating an ultra 'sudsy' appearance in products. The most common sulfates, which are added to both hair and skin care products, are sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and sodium laureth ether sulfate (SLES). While both of these ingredients achieve a super 'clean' feel immediately after use ' think tight and shiny skin ' they're well known to cause skin and eye irritation, and can contribute to fine lines and acne over time.
Sulfates completely strip the skin's natural lipid barrier, resulting in increased H2O evaporation, limited protection from exterior irritants, and serious dryness. In effect, they're way too efficient at removing oil from your skin, leaving you with a lipid deficiency that will exacerbate aging and irritation.
Some surfactants aren't just about cleansing; another group of the chemical, called Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), are designed to allow formulas to penetrate deep into your pores (specifically formulas with both H2O and lipids in them). PEGs are also used as emulsifiers and stabilizers, keeping the consistency of conventional cosmetics 'lotion-like' and 'creamy,' while enhancing penetration of any other ingredients that may be in the formula.
So here's the issue with PEGs: they facilitate the absorption of carcinogenic and toxic chemicals into your skin. They help traffic things like heavy metals and pollutants like ethylene oxide into your pores, causing everything from hormonal imbalances to increased risk of certain kinds of cancer.
What About Natural Surfactants?
The good news is, there are a variety of plant based surfactants that you can find in natural face cleansers. These natural surfactants will have the same oil-busting or emulsifying effects, without compromising your internal and epidermal health.
Potassium cocoate originates from coconut oil, specifically from the fatty acids present in coconut oil. It works effectively as an emulsifier and grease reducer in facial products, working to dissolve and slough away dirt and excess lipids. It's derived from the saponification of coconut oil, and as a healthy substitute for soaps and detergents, will leave your skin less stripped, more balanced, and infinitely more nourished than harsh chemical surfactants. Since it's derived from whole coconut, it also contains glycerin: a natural humectant which will help your skin retain adequate moisture.
Another natural surfactant to opt for is saponified coconut oil, which is produced through coconut oil being broken down by sodium. Essentially, the process of saponification describes breaking down a fat with a chemical that is alkaline (like salt). The result is a natural surfactant which can rid your skin of dirt, oil and other pollutants, while also delivering a dose of reparative vitamin E (naturally present in coconut oil). Saponified coconut oil provides a much lighter lather then chemical surfactants (no big bubbles or suds), but it's ultimately way less drying. This natural surfactant respects your skin's natural lipid barrier and PH balance, for more self-regulating and self-cleansing skin over time.
Finally, decyl glucoside is another smart chemical surfactant substitute. It's biodegradable, derived from corn and coconuts, and obtained from 100% raw materials (and features as the key cleansing ingredient in our Nopal Cactus Cleanser). It functions as an ultra mild surfactant, cutting through oil and working into a lather, while remaining gentle enough to use on fragile skin (and even on baby skin). It possesses moisture binding properties (like PEGS, but not carcinogenic), meaning that its topical application can help skin feel soft and smooth, with increased moisture retention and H2O.
The takeaway? When it comes to finding a facial cleanser that keeps your complexion balanced, surfactants might be part of the puzzle. Just make sure you're steering clear of high-risk chemical surfactants (which will leave you with serious dryness), and towards a natural cleanser (the gentler and the more plant-based, the better)!
Surfactants are an important category of ingredient in cosmetics because they function as detergents which help to remove dirt. They are therefore the basis of many types of cleansing products such as face and body washes, hand wash, bubble bath and shampoo.
What is a surfactant?
The word surfactant is a shorter term for surface active agent, which actually describes how it functions ' it lowers the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid or between a liquid and a solid.
To understand what interface surface tension means, imagine water and oil mixed together. They will not form a homogenous mixture and where the two liquids touch each other (interface) there will be certain tension, keeping the two liquids separate.
If surfactants are added to this mixture, they will lower the tension and allow water and oil to mix.
The face and body wash ingredients, especially the surfactants, surround and trap tiny droplets of fat (which also contains dirt and pollutants) and thus help to remove it from the skin by rinsing with water.
Surfactants have lots of different functions but the main ones we will be focusing on are: wetting, foaming, dispersion, emulsification, detergency, solubilization and viscosity regulation.
This refers to how a liquid deposits onto a solid or liquid surface and how it spreads out. An example of this is how shampoo and conditioner spreads out onto the hair in order to carry out its function.
Surfactants are used to create foam in products such as shampoo, and body, face and hand washes. Foam forms when gas is trapped inside so-called 'cells' with liquid film walls.
This is normally a powder (solid) dispersed in a liquid. A surfactant reduces interfacial tension and helps effective dispersion.
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Emulsification is the formation of a dispersed system made of two immiscible liquids (eg oil and water), where one is dispersed within the other in the form of small droplets.
The surfactant is positioned at the oil and water interface, lowering interfacial tension and preventing separation. This is how an emulsifier normally works to allow both oil and water phases to mix.
Surfactants have the ability to remove dirt and grime from a surface. The hydrophilic (water-loving) head is attracted to the water and the lipophilic (oil-loving) tail is attracted to the oil in the dirt and grime.
These opposing forces loosen the dirt and grime on the surface, eventually suspending it in the water that washes it away.
This mechanism is used when we wash our clothes with detergent and when we use shampoo on our hair. Detergency is the function of surfactants that plays a key role in the cleansing action of face and body washes.
Notice how foam and detergency are two separate functions of surfactants?
High foam does not necessarily mean high detergency, and vice versa. It is only our perception that a product must foam in order to clean well. There are surfactants that do a very good job of cleaning, yet do not produce much foam; these are mainly natural surfactants.
In order to satisfy customers' expectations of foaming body washes, surfactants that create good foam can be incorporated into a formula. On the other hand, a less foaming formula is usually perceived as more gentle and nourishing, which can also be used to your advantage.
Solubilization is the process by which insoluble materials are made water soluble by their encapsulation within micelles.
Solubilization is required when you want a clear formula but still want to blend oil in a mostly water formula. There are surfactants, fortunately, that can create particles so small that light can pass through them. This allows the solutions to remain clear.
Use of solubilizing surfactants is required when adding essential oils or fragrance oils to a water-based product. For solubilization to occur, oil and surfactant ratios must be at the optimum level.
Surfactants also have the possibility to change the viscosity of the formulation. Oils have quite a low viscosity, as does water. But when the two are mixed with the addition of a surfactant to create an emulsion, the viscosity is greatly increased.
1. Formulate a wide range of cleansing products ' Learning about surfactants enables you to make a wide range of products including face, body and hand washes, foaming cleansers and shower foam, bubble bath and more!
2. Simple to make ' Most surfactant-based products are easy to make; no complex manufacturing method is required.
3. Surfactants are versatile ' With a small selection of surfactants you can formulate a wide range of products.
4. Cost effective ' Many surfactants are relatively inexpensive to buy; therefore by making your own surfactant-based products you can save a lot of money compared to buying natural and organic products.
5. Formulate gentle products ' Many commercial surfactant-based products are harsh and drying on the skin. Learn how to make yours gentle and non-drying.
6.Suitable for natural/organic certification ' Formulate to natural and organic standards.
7. Expand your skincare range ' Take all five modules of Formulating with Natural Surfactants and you'll have the knowledge to add a variety of cleansing products to your skincare range.
In short, yes you can!
As you will probably notice from this article, there is a bit of science involved, but don't let that put you off.
Surfactants are a wonderful category of cosmetic ingredient to discover.
They add cleansing and foaming properties to a formula and are therefore used to create a wide range of products including face washes, body washes, shower gel, hand wash, bubble bath, shower foam and foaming cleansers.
Once you've grasped the fundamentals of surfactants ' what they are, how they work, and how to formulate with them ' making your own foaming cleansing products is a truly fun thing to be able to do.
Take our Formulating with Natural Surfactants course to learn the science of surfactants, discover a selection of gentle, natural surfactant choices (so you can avoid harsh surfactants such as SLS) and formulate a wide range of cleansing and foaming skincare products that are natural, mild and effective.
You can access this online course by being a Member of the Natural Cosmetic Formulation Club. To find out more about the Club, click here
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