Green Clean Surfactants - Here’s One

I wrote about this surfactant some time ago, and while updating this post (as I am in the process of doing for my entire blog), I discovered that the creators (and manufacturers) of this ingredient appear to have revised/expanded, and updated it.

Spoiler alert: it looks to be even greener than it was before.

The Name

Ingredients manufacturers will sometimes just use the INCI name (which can be rather long and boring), but this particular surfactant has gotten a bit of love in the name department. If you try and pronounce the INCI name, you’ll see why this one has been graced with a common name.

Common name: Suganate 160NC

INCI name: Sodium Laurylglucosides Hydroxypropylsulfonate

CAS number: 742087-49-6

The Technical Stuff

Suganate (which is kind of a cool common name) is a series of products that the manufacturer describes as ‘high foaming sulfonated surfactants’. These are based on (naturally derived) alkyl polyglucosides (or APGs).

APGs are a class of non-ionic surfactants derived from sugars and fatty alcohols and are popular with companies focusing on natural.

Suganate 160NC has plant-based origins – namely coconut and corn.

The manufacturer Colonial Chemical is based in the USA, has been around for about 3 decades, and provides these points about Suganate 160NC

• Sulfate free

• Non-irritating to skin and eyes (think foaming baby wash or shampoo)

• Safe for environment

• Biodegradable under any conditions (!)

• 100% based on natural sources

They back up their claims with documentation.

While they're not lying, you could also say the same thing about a few other surfactants. The term 'naturally derived' (or natural sources) means the ingredient has all natural origins but is chemically altered in order to become what it is.

Is it Green Enough for You?

Now, if you're a hard-core stickler for ‘all natural’ and ‘as unprocessed as possible’, then this ingredient might (still) not be green enough for you.

However.

The fact remains that you can't really make a surfactant without doing 'chemical alterations'. So unless you want to disregard everything except plant saponins such as soapnut and soaproot, chemical alterations are part of surfactant life.

If you are looking to formulate low-irritation shampoo and body wash products with foaming ability, this surfactant definitely fills the bill.

The part that really interests me about this ingredient is what it does after it gets washed down the drain. Suganate 160 NC appears to tick all the right boxes in that it is biodegradable under any conditions.

I still haven’t worked with it and admit it has been on my to do list to procure a sample of this ingredient and give it a try for longer than I care to admit, but it warms my heart to see more manufacturers taking a holistic approach to making natural and environmentally friendly ingredients.

Manufacturer Free Formulations

If you are interested in working with this surfactant (along with some of the other products by Colonial Chemical), visit their formulations page for free inspirational formulations for loads of personal care products, pet care products, and more.

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