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In the realm of hair care formulations, polymers play a vital role in enhancing product efficacy and consumer satisfaction. These versatile compounds offer a wide array of benefits, serving as film formers, fixatives, emulsifiers, conditioning agents, thickeners, rheology modifiers, and even sun protection agents. The strategic application of polymers in hair care products has revolutionized the cosmetics industry, providing innovative solutions to address various hair concerns. In this article, Alfa Chemistry provides a comprehensive introduction to polymers for hair care based on their applications.
These polymers act as film formers, creating a flexible yet durable film that envelops the hair strands, securing the desired style in place throughout the day. Some commonly used hair fixatives include polyquaternium-11, polyquaternium-4, polyquaternium-46, polyquaternium-16, polyquaternium-39, polyquaternium-2, polyquaternium-28, VP/methylacylamide/vinyl imidazole copolymers, PVP, PVP-VA, acrylates type copolymers, butyl or ethyl esters of PVM/MA copolymers, and guar derivatives such as guarhydroxypropyltrimonium chloride.
Polymers utilized as thickening agents and rheology modifiers are instrumental in determining the texture and application properties of hair care products. Polymers composed of long, branched or unbranched molecules provide thickening effects. The mechanism of action of thickening polymers can be achieved through entanglement, cross-linking or cluster formation. Representative polymers are polyethylene glycol (PEG) (PEG-150 distearate, PEG-7 glyceryl cocoate, and PEG-200 hydrogenated glyceryl palmitate and PEG-120 methyl glucose dioleate), carbomer polymers, and acrylate copolymers/carbomers.
Hair coloring and lightening polymers can be used as thickeners for oxidative dyes, conditioners and hair treatments. Types of thickeners used for hair care and their examples include associative thickeners, hydrophobically modified ethoxylated urethanes (HEUR) (PEG-180/octoxynol-40/TMMG copolymer, PEG-180/laureth-50/TMMG copolymer, and polyether-1), alkylmethicones & aminosilicone (amodimethicone and trimethylsiloxyamadimethicone), nonassociative thickeners (cross linked acrylic acid homopolymers, nonionic guar gums, and dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate homopolymers and copolymers quaternized with methyl chloride).
Polymers within conditioning and cleansing formulations contribute to the restoration of hair health by enhancing detangling, smoothness, and manageability. These are categorized as cationic regulatory polymers (polyquaternium-X, such as polyquaternium-6, polyquaternium-7, polyquaternium-11, and polyquaternium-74), non -ion conditioning polymers, and silicon polymers (cyclomethicones, dimethicones, dimethiconecopolyols, and alkyl-modified silicones).
Considering the detrimental impact of UV radiation on hair, the integration of polymers as sun protection agents has become paramount in hair care formulations. UV-absorbing polymers, such as benzophenone-derived copolymers, exhibit exceptional UV filtration properties, effectively shielding the hair from photodamage and color fading. Moreover, polysilicone-19 is an organic silicon copolymer with methoxycinnamic acid, cocos alkyl and cationic groups, which provides effective ultraviolet protection.
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