Formulation composition has a dramatic influence on the performance of conditioning shampoos. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting the performance of various cationic polymers in those systems. An experiment was conducted by varying the levels of three surfactants (sodium lauryl ether sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and cocamidopropyl betaine) in formulations containing various cationic polymers such as cationic cassia derivatives of different cationic charge densities (1.9, 2.3, and 3.0 mEq/g), cationic guar (0.98 mEq/g), and cationic hydroxyethyl cellulose (1.03 mEq/g). The results show the formulation composition dramatically affects silicone and cationic polymer deposition. In particular, three parameters are of importance in determining deposition efficiency: ionic strength, surfactant (micelle) charge, and total amount of surfactant. The cationic polymer composition, molecular weight, and charge density are also important in determining which of the previous three parameters influence the performance most.
