Cetrimonium chloride, or cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), is a topical

antiseptic An antiseptic (from Greek ἀντί ''anti'', "against" and σηπτικός ''sēptikos'', "putrefactive") is an antimicrobial substance or compound that is applied to living tissue/skin to reduce the possibility of infection, sepsis, or putre ...

and

surfactant Surfactants are chemical compounds that decrease the surface tension between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or interfacial tension between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, fo ...

. Long-chain quaternary ammonium surfactants, such as cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), are generally combined with long-chain fatty alcohols, such as stearyl alcohols, in formulations of

hair conditioner Hair conditioner is a hair care cosmetic product used to improve the feel, texture, appearance, and manageability of hair. Its main purpose is to reduce friction between strands of hair to allow smoother brushing or combing, which might otherwis ...

s and

shampoo Shampoo () is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in solid bar format. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into th ...

s.''What is cetrimonium chloride?''
at naturallycurly.com"The cooling process effect on the bilayer phase state of the CTAC/cetearyl alcohol/water surfactant gel"
Colloids and Surfaces A 597 (2020) 1248212 The cationic surfactant concentration in conditioners is generally of the order of 1–2% and the alcohol concentrations are usually equal to or greater than those of the cationic surfactants. The ternary system, surfactant/fatty alcohol/water, leads to a lamellar structure forming a percolated network giving rise to a gel.

References

Antiseptics Chlorides Quaternary ammonium compounds Cationic surfactants {{dermatologic-drug-stub

See also

References