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Why Does Salt Thicken Shampoos

Salt increases the viscosity of shampoos by lowering the charge density of micelles formed by anionic surfactants. This allows the micelles to pack closer together, forming a thicker solution. However, the effect of salt depends on factors like surfactant concentration and type. Creating a "salt curve" by measuring viscosity at increasing salt levels provides guidance on the optimal amount of salt needed to adjust viscosity for a given shampoo formula.

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570 views2 pages

Why Does Salt Thicken Shampoos

Salt increases the viscosity of shampoos by lowering the charge density of micelles formed by anionic surfactants. This allows the micelles to pack closer together, forming a thicker solution. However, the effect of salt depends on factors like surfactant concentration and type. Creating a "salt curve" by measuring viscosity at increasing salt levels provides guidance on the optimal amount of salt needed to adjust viscosity for a given shampoo formula.

Uploaded by

Silah FerbulOus
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Why does salt thicken shampoos?

To understand why salt affects the viscosity of a shampoo (or body wash) you have to first realize that shampoos are mixtures of surfactants that arrange themselves in tiny structures called micelles. The viscosity of the shampoo solution depends on the size and packing structure of these micelles. Since shampoos are typically made from anionic surfactants the outer surface has a specific charge density. This will affect the way that the micelles can pack together. A higher charge density will cause the micelles to repel and result in a thinner solution. The sodium ions from the salt lower the charge density of the micelle surface. This makes them more able to pack closer together and creates a thicker solution. This is why salt thickening is really only affective with anionic-based or anionic/nonionic-based shampoos.

Micelles and salt


While salt can help increase the viscosity of a shampoo system, it works differently in different formulas. Some systems will be highly tolerant of salt while others get thin as water with just a small increase in salt concentration. This is because the size of the micelles is dependent on a number of factors including

Concentration of surfactants Type of surfactants Ratio of surfactants Temperature Charge density

The way salt reduces the charge density is that it pushes the dissociation equilibrium of the surfactant to the left. As an example, consider this dissociation equation for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. C12SO4Na = C12SO4- + Na+ More sodium ions push the equilibrium to the associated state. This drops the micelle charge density and the size increases. This in turn causes more micelle agglomeration which can ultimately lead to lammellar structures which can form a gel.

Creating a salt curve

When formulating an anionic cleansing system, it is useful to create a salt curve so when your manufacturing people present you with a product that is too thin, youll know exactly how much salt they should add to get the right viscosity. Heres how you do it. 1. Make a 500 g batch of shampoo (or body wash) and leave out the salt. 2. Split the batch into ten 50g samples. 3. Add salt levels in the following increments. (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, 1%, 1.2%, 1.4%, 1.6%, 1.8%, 2%) 4. Record viscosity & plot viscosity versus concentration. Most systems should not tolerate much more than 2% salt levels. Based on the results you can refine your salt curve to figure out even tighter % levels. Each formula type you make should have a salt curve like this so you can tell Production how much theyll need to add to adjust the viscosity. You might also consider doing the same thing with the fragrance as it can affect the viscosity in a similar way.

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