Specialty Chemicals Magazine recently covered the launch of AminoSensyl™ Ultra MB, Inolex's new non-quat technology for conditioning hair.

This sustainable hair care technology can be used as a replacement for behentrimonlum chloride (BTAC) and behentrlmonium methosulfate (BS), offering equivalent performance in both rinse-off and leave-on formulations. It is 100% natural, in accordance with ISO 16128 natural origin index and the USDA Bio Preferred programme, and both COSMOS- and NaTrue-approved, as well as vegan, cruelty-free and readily biodegradable.

The new ingredient is a pre-neutralised combination of cationic amino lipid with a fatty alcohol, that forms lamellar liquid crystals, making it pre-optimised from a ratio perspective and thus easy to formulate. It strengthens, smooths and defines hair, and is gentle to the scalp and eyes, while the combination of being cationic and based on non-quat technology means that it is safe for aquatic environments.

Figure 1: Amino lipid example shown: Brassicyl Valinate Esylate (Brassicyl = C_18-22, C₂₂ shown).

The above diagram shows the structure of AminoSensyl™ Ultra MB. The cationic group (left) affords a natural cationic charge, which is critical to enabling conditioning products to deliver substantivity to the hair. This Is maintained naturally by using biobased amino acids which is neutralised with biobased ethanesulfonic acid.

This is the heart of our breakthrough technology because it is difficult to have a cationic charge from natural sources. It also means that the cationic charge is not permanent.