Croda launches biodegradable hair conditioner

According to the company, Terraquat BD delivers the same performance benefits as traditionally used conditioning agents but has an improved aquatic toxicity profile and is completely biodegradable.

The aquatic toxicity profile is the measure of the product that the aquatic environment can be exposed to before it becomes lethal to 50 percent of the aquatic test subjects, the company explained.

“In the case of the quaternary component of Terraquat BD, the test subjects in the aquatic environment were Daphnia. If the aquatic toxicity of a chemical is above 100mg/L then it is not considered to be harmful to the aquatic environment,”​ a Croda spokesperson told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.

“Many traditional conditioning agents are not biodegradable and are hazardous in aquatic environments. Some are even hazardous at a level as low as 1mg/L,”​ the spokesperson continued.

Wider pH tolerance​

In addition, Terraquat BD was found to be completely biodegradable when tested using OECD 301B method, Croda claims.

Unlike many other biodegradable conditioning agents, Terraquat BD can be incorporated into shampoos as well as conditioners, due to its wider pH tolerance, the company added.

Growing demand for biodegradability ​

The company expects success from its new ingredient citing the growing demand for green personal care products, in both the mainstream as well as niche markets.

While interest in environmentally friendly products is growing they must perform if consumers are to repurchase, and Croda claims that performance tests show that Terraquat BD peforms as well as Behentrimonium Chloride in formulations.

Evaluating the combing force shows that Terraquat BD in both a shampoo and a conditioner provides the same detangling force as Behentrimonium Chloride in conditioning and detangling, Croda said.

In addition, the company highlighted a recent trend for biodegradable hair products.

“Fructis launched its Pure Clean line of hair care products, which tout the formulations percent of biodegradability as its main claim,”​ the spokesperson said.

“Given this new trend of biodegradability, we anticipate that formulators around the globe to be excited by the introduction of TERRAQUAT BD to the market place​.”