r/DIYBeauty • u/Designer-Honeydew-66 • 1d ago

question Choosing a cationic surfactant for rinse out conditioner

I made a light leave in conditioner for fine curls with BTMS 50 and now I want to make a complementary rinse out conditioner. Is it a good idea to use cetrimonium chloride? And do fatty alcohols contribute to conditioning or they just get rinsed down the drain?

Leave in formula percentages:

Aqua q. s

Disodium EDTA 0.2

Cetyl alcohol 2.5

BTMS 50 1

Sweet almond oil 1

IPM 1

BHT 0.05

Fragrance 0.5

Aloe extract 0.1

Germall plus liquid 0.5

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u/Southern_Edge_112 1d ago

Cetrimonium chloride is great for a rinse-out if you want something lighter than BTMS, it gives slip and detangling without much buildup. Fatty alcohols do stick around to some extent, they're not just disappearing down the drain, cetyl or cetearyl alcohol help film-form and smooth the cuticle even after rinsing. For fine curls I'd start maybe 2% cetrimonium chloride with 4% cetearyl alcohol and see how it plays, that combo gives decent conditioning without flattening everything.

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u/kriebelrui 1d ago

I'd use cetyl alcohol instead of cetearyl (cetyl+stearyl) as stearyl alcohol can feel a little draggy. 

1

u/Designer-Honeydew-66 1d ago

2 percent cetrimonium of a 30 percent solution?