Decyl Glucoside, Coco-Glucoside, and Lauryl Glucoside You may notice these names from shampoo labels or hand wash bottles, and you may know they all belong to alkyl polyglucosides, so What is the difference between Coco-, decyl- and lauryl Glucoside? How would this affect cleansing properties and foam properties? Which (if any) would be milder for use in baby shampoo?
First, why is it used in cosmetics and personal care products and what’s the difference?
In cosmetics and personal care products, Decyl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, and Coco Glucoside are reported to function as surfactants – cleansing agents. Because Alkyl polyglucoside is made from natural raw materials, Readily biodegradable, Safe and eco-friendly, Mild, low-toxic, low-irritating to the skin, Superior wetting properties, low surface tension Good compatibility with all other types of surfactants. Alkyl polyglycoside surfactants products are becoming popular day-by-day and demand for its usage is increasing worldwide.
Decyl Glucoside, Coco-Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside suit for baby products, bath products, cleansing products, skin care products, eye makeup, and hair care products including hair dyes and colors.
So what difference is between Decyl Glucoside, Coco-Glucoside, and Lauryl Glucoside when used in cosmetics?
From specification they all look the same： light or pale yellowish liquid,50% solid content, PH value 11.5-12.5(default), DP value 1.3-1.5. The only difference is viscosity. Decyl Glycoside 1000-2500 (mPa•s, 20℃), Coco Glucoside 2500-6000 (mPa•s, 20℃), Lauryl Glucoside 2000-4000(mPa•s, 40℃).
They are all formed by reacting natural alcohols (that vary by carbon chain length) with a cyclic form of the sugar, glucose, or glucose polymers. The carbon chain length made different Glucosides： Lauryl Glucoside( C12-C14), Decyl Glucoside ( 60%C8-C10，40% C12-C14), Coco Glucoside(40%C8-C10，60% C12-C14), The short answer is foaming and viscosity.
Decyl Glucoside has the wealthiest foam and foam up quickly, but the foam also disappears fast compare to others. The low viscosity presents excellent fluid fluidity.
Lauryl Glucoside has the slowest and most excellent foam also the foam is more stable than others. The high viscosity suit for thick-oriented products.
Coco Glucoside properties are in the middle of Lauryl Glucoside and Coco-Glucoside.
For easy a comparison I list as follows:
Foaming Stability: Lauryl Glucoside ＞ Coco Glucoside ＞ Decyl Glucoside. Foam up speed: Lauryl Glucoside ＜Coco Glucoside ＜Decyl Glucoside Viscosity： Lauryl Glucoside ＞Coco Glucoside ＞ Decyl Glycoside
Alkaline resistance
Compared to traditional nonionic surfactants, Alkyl polyglucoside showed excellent alkaline tolerance. Alkyl polyglucoside is highly soluble in concentrated alkaline and can hydrotrope other less soluble ingredients.
Method： To prepare 5% aqueous solution of APG, add sodium hydroxide slowly and stir until turbidity occurs, then calculate the amount of sodium hydroxide added per liter of water
Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside showed the best alkaline tolerance which can be reached to 640g/L.As the carbon chain lengths grow, the alkaline resistance of APG was reduced.
Even as the worst alkaline resistance of Lauryl Glucoside can tolerate much more alkaline than traditional nonionic surfactants, for example, AEO-9.
Detergency property
Detergency property is an important factor for formulators to choose surfactants. This is particularly true for household cleaning products. The Detergency property of APG is much related to its carbon chain length. Detergency property is different for different APG products and also for different clothes.
Test Method： Tests were carried out in accordance with GB/T 13174-2008. The compared sample is standard washing powder. JB-01 carbon black cloth, JB-02 egg cloth, JB-03 sebum cloth.
Superior detergency property makes it possible to formulate APG in household cleaning products as the main surfactant.
Lauryl Glucoside(APG1214): It can be widely used in household cleaning products, for example, LLD, dishwashing, soap, in terms of superior detergency, foam stability, and emulsifying properties.
Coco glucoside(APG0814), Decyl Glucoside(APG0814): As a blended product of Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside(APG0810) and Lauryl Glucoside(APG1214）, Coco glucoside and Decyl Glucoside combine the advantages of viscosity, foam, detergency, and wetting properties of both. It is well suited for household cleaning agents, like LLD, dishwashing, fruit and vegetable cleansers, kitchen cleanser, floor cleaner, glass cleaners, etc.
Surface tension, Wetting property:
