Shampoo formulation
Last update on Jan 15, 2015
This article was originally published on January 15, 2015 and revised in 2025.
This guide explores shampoo formulations from basic surfactant-water systems to advanced blends. It highlights cleansing, foaming, hair shine, softness, combability, safety, pleasant odor, and formulation techniques for effective hair care.
Ingredients and method
Steps to follow:
- Before starting
- Typical Ingredients / Usual method & tips
- Sample recipe
- To go further
Before starting: A shampoo is a colloidal dispersion of various surfactants in water. Base components of a classical shampoo are cleansing agents, thickeners and water. Most of the time additives and adjuvants are added to the formula in order to help cleansing, enhance aesthetics properties, foaming or make hair shine. Indeed, beauty brought by the product is as important as cleanliness:
- As long as it is an hygiene product, a shampoo has to maintain a pleasant feel of the hair. Moreover, in the mind of many consumers cleanliness is often associated with foam quantity. So, shampoos have to foam!
Required qualities:
- Cleansing properties without eliminating all surface lipids
- Foaming properties
- Make hair shine and soft
- Make hair easy to comb
- Antistatic
- Pleasant odor
- Non-irritant, non-stinging
Usual method:
- Disperse hydrophilic thickener(s) in water under intensive stirring, until a homogeneous gel is formed.
- Then add the surfactants and the other ingredients and mix gently until the product becomes homogeneous.
- Oil-soluble ingredients (some preservatives, perfume) should be added by pre-mixing them with a small amount of surfactants.
Typical ingredients:
| Component | Usage (% w/w) |
|---|---|
| Must use | |
| Surfactants | 15–30% |
| Foam Stabilizers | 1–4% |
| Thickener | 0–5% |
| Deionized Water | Q.S. |
| Usual | |
| Preservatives | 0.1–1% |
| Humectants | 1–5% |
| pH Buffers | Q.S. neutral pH |
| Chelating Agents | 0–0.02% |
| Optional | |
| Pearlescing / Opacifying Agents | 0.2–2% |
| Perfume | 0.5–1% |
| Active Agents | 0–2% |
| Coloring Agents | Q.S. |
| Conditioning Agents | Q.S. desired effect |
| UV Filter | 0.01–0.1% |
Tips and a sample recipe
| Sample Recipe: Clear Shampoo | ||
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Function | % (w/w) |
| Phase A | ||
| Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer | Thickener | 1.20 |
| Propylene glycol | Humectant | 6.00 |
| NaOH (18%) | Neutralizer / pH Buffer | 0.40 |
| Sodium laureth sulfate (28% active matter) | Surfactant (primary) | 30.00 |
| Propylene glycol, Diazolidinyl urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben | Preservative | 1.00 |
| Deionized Water | Diluent | Q.S. |
| Phase B | ||
| Benzophenone-4 | UV Filter | 0.02 |
| Deionized Water | Diluent | 5.00 |
| Tetrasodium EDTA | Chelating agent | 0.10 |
| Phase C | ||
| NaOH (18%) | Neutralizer / pH Buffer | 2.40 |
| Cocamidopropyl Betaine | Foam booster (secondary surfactant) | 4.00 |
| FD & C Blue No. 1 (C.I. 42090) | Dye | 0.002 |
Method
Phase A: Heat Water (40°C), disperse thickener under intensive stirring. Reduce mixing speed after polymer is dispersed. Then add propylene glycol and NaOH solution. Mix until homogeneity. Add other ingredients of Part A in order.
Mix Phase B ingredients in hot water (30-40°C) and add into Phase A. Add other ingredients in order. Mix until it is uniform.
Properties: Clear, viscous gel, pH 6.5, viscosity = 5500-6500 cP
How to significantly reduce the overall irritation of your mixture?
- By increasing the betaine surfactants %. When these ones are combined with fatty alcohol sulfates, they form large anionic-cationic complex which lowers irritation.
- Part of anionic surfactants can also be replaced by non-ionic surfactants like alkylpolyglucosides.
To go further
Specific substances may be incorporated in order to provide a restoring and protecting effect on hair like natural and modified lipids, amino acids and silicones. They may also have reconstituting effect on the integrity and health of the hair and scalp - such as preventing dandruff and excessive sebaceous secretion.
Baby shampoos: They should be based on amphoteric surfactants (imidazolinic derivatives or betaïnes, 75 to 100% of total surfactants).
- Greasy hair shampoo: Its first mission is to eliminate excessive sebum without eliminating all surface lipids. Following actives may be used:
- Sulfur in order to regulate sebum secretion
- Clays to absorb fats
Dry hair shampoo: A dry scalp leads to a dry aspect of the hair because of lack of sebum. Cleansing base is composed with a ternary mixture of surfactants (anionic, amphoteric and non-ionic). Formulation is completed by superfatting agents: castor oil, lecithins.
Antidandruff shampoos: Formulae contain antimicrobial and keratolytic actives (zinc pyrithione, piroctone olamine)
2-in-1 shampoos: Some conditioning agents (polyquaterniums, silicones) are added in order to help combability