Quantitative methods for evaluating optical and frictional properties of cationic polymers

This paper presents three quantitative methods to examine gloss, opacity, and friction of cationic polymers. The adsorption of cationic polymers onto hair and skin can be regarded as a thin film coating. Therefore, optical and frictional properties of polymer films are of significant relevance to the applications of cationic polymers in hair care products. Such properties reflect the desirable hair condition attributes consumers seek in shampoo and conditioner products. Using these test methods, polyquaternium-10 and cationic guar samples of varying molecular weight and cationic substitution were compared. The effect of an anionic surfactant, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), on polymer film properties was also investigated. Neat guar hydroxypropyl trimonium chloride imparts less friction than polyquaternium-10 but dulls the substrate employed in this study. The optical data show that polyquaternium-10 provides greater film clarity and gloss than cationic guars. In the presence of SDS, polyquaternium-10 also displays similar or lower friction than cationic guar. The comparative optical and frictional results are in good agreement with the visual assessment of the cationic polymer films. These results clearly demonstrate that polyquaternium-10 exhibits superior film properties in the forms of both neat polymer and polymer/surfactant complex. In addition, microscopic techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) provide powerful explanations for the differences noted between the two popular classes of cationic polymers. The test methods described in this paper can be utilized to differentiate the upper performance potential of cationic polymers. These objective and standardized test methods derived from the coatings industry are not affected by the variability of hair or the formulation complexity of end products. They can be useful tools in the product development process in quickly screening the relative performance of different polymers.