July 2024

To know what is required to achieve effective cleaning, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the chemistry of soaps and detergents.

Water, the liquid, which is primarily used for cleaning, has a characteristic known as surface tension. Under the surface of water, each water molecule is surrounded and attracted by other molecules. At the surface, however, these molecules are surrounded by only those water molecules that are on the water side. As the water molecules at the surface are pulled inside the body of water, a tension is created. This tension makes the water to bead up on surfaces (fabric, glass), as a result of which the wetting of surface and hence the cleaning process slows down.

For effective cleaning, the surface tension should be reduced in order to make water spread and wet surfaces. Chemicals that can do this effectively are known as surfactants or surface-active agents.

Surfactants also execute some other important cleaning functions, such as loosening, emulsifying (dispersing in water) and holding the soil in suspension till the time it can be rinsed away. These chemicals also provide alkalinity that has found to be effective in removing acidic soils.

Also known as surface-active agents, surfactants can also be classified on the basis of their ionic (electrical charge), anionic (negative charge), nonionic (no charge), cationic (positive charge) and amphoteric (either positive or negative charge) properties in water.

Soap is an anionic surfactant while main ingredients in todays’ detergents are other anionic as well as nonionic surfactants. Now lets have a look at the chemistry of surfactants –

Soaps

Soaps are water-soluble potassium or sodium salts of fatty acids, which are made by the chemical treatment of fats (or oils), or their fatty acids with a strong alkali. Now let us first examine the composition of fats, oils and alkalis.

Fats and Oils

Fats and oils that are used in the manufacturing of soaps come from plant or animal sources. Each fat or oil molecule is made up of a typical mixture of different triglycerides.

In a triglyceride molecule, one glycerin molecule is attached to three molecules of a fatty acid. There are several types of fatty acids, with each having a particular combination of fatty acids. Components of fats and oils, which are used in soap making, fatty acids are weak acids that are composed of two parts.

A carboxylic acid group consists of two oxygen (O) atoms, one carbon (C) and one hydrogen (H) atom with a hydrocarbon chain attached to the carboxylic acid group. Typically, a fatty acid is made up of a long straight chain of carbon (C) atoms in which each carbon atom carries two hydrogen atoms.

Alkali

An alkali is a soluble salt of an alkali metal, such as potassium or sodium. Earlier, the alkalis that were used in soap manufacturing were obtained from the ashes of plants but now they are commercially manufactured. Now days, the term alkali described a substance, which is a base (chemically) and that reacts with and neutralizes an acid.

Usually the alkalis that are used in soapmaking are potassium hydroxide (KOH), also known as potash (KOH) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as caustic soda.

Surfactants in Detergents

A detergent is a better cleaning product as it contains one or more surfactants. Due to their chemical makeup, the surfactants that are used in detergents can be engineered to function well under different conditions. Such types of surfactants are less sensitive to hardness minerals in water than soap and most of them do not form a film.

Detergent surfactants were developed during World War I in response to a shortage of animal and vegetable fats and oils. The discovery of surfactant was also driven by the need of a cleaning product resistant to hard water to make the cleaning more effective. At that time, petroleum was found to be a readily available source for the manufacture of detergent surfactants. Today, detergent surfactants can be produced with a variety oleochemicals (derived from fats and oils) and/or petrochemicals (derived from petroleum). Now let us first examine the composition of petrochemicals, oleochemicals and alkalis prior to the review of how surfactant detergents work.

Petrochemicals and Oleochemicals

Like the fatty acids that are used in soap manufacturing, both the petroleum and fats and oils contain hydrocarbon chains, which are repelled by water but attracted to grease and oils in soils. The hydrocarbon chain sources are used to form the water-repelling end of the surfactant molecule.

Other Chemicals

Other chemicals include chemicals, like sulfur trioxide, sulfuric acid and ethylene oxide, that can be used to produce the water-attracting end of the surfactant molecule.

Alkalis

As like soapmaking, an alkali is used to form detergent surfactants. Potassium and sodium hydroxide are the most commonly used alkalis.

Face wash is a gentle liquid soap that gives deep pore cleansing. It is an easiest way to get rid of the extra oil, makeup and dust particles from the skin. It cleans face gently thereby leaving a fresh and glowing skin. It is a hygienic way and convenient way to take care of skin.

Face wash products are found to be equally good for all types of skin. In an oily skin, they reduce the chances of having acne and pimples by removing oil, on the other hand they give moisture to dry skin. Normal skin feels great after using a face wash. Face washes has found to be very effective for people suffering from clogged pores condition. Regular use of a face wash also reduces the chances of having pimples and other skin allergies.

Although a face wash is meant to remove dust, makeup and oil from the skin, it can do much more to combat the ravages of every-day living, while at the same time it can promote a softer, wrinkle-free and younger looking skin. A facial toner is generally not required after using a face wash, as it does not affect the pH of skin and does not leave any grimy residues.

Some people believe that the face washes must be drying, as they believe that the drying action will dry out the acne and pimples. This is a misconception – as a too dry skin will not only be uncomfortable, but will be vulnerable to get inflamed, irritated and red. For this reason, manufacturers generally formulate the face washes in a way that do not dry the skin, but help balance moisture and hydration, which ultimately prevents discomfort and more skin problems.

Types
Generally a wash suits all skin types, however now days different products are available in the market that are formulated to suit different skin types. For example – an oily skin face wash is made for people having oily skin condition and does not contain any oil in it. Face wash for oily skin contains oils and greases in it and gives moisture to the skin. So the different types of face washes available in the market differ in their formulation, which is based on skin types. Thus different types of face washes available in the market include –

• Oily skin face wash
• Dry skin face wash
• Normal skin face wash

Benefits of using a Face Wash
Some important benefits of using a face wash are –

• Effectively cleanses the skin and helps to fight skin problems
• Come for all skin types
• Regular use reduces the chances of acne, pimples and other skin allergies
• Economical, as very little is used
• Washes off well
• Keeps skin from over-drying and tightening
• Helps to improve general skin health

Ingredients Face washes are generally formulated with caffeine, menthol, Vitamin E, as well as invigorating extracts that are derived from lemon and orange peels. This unique blend is formulated to refresh and waken skin and prepare it for less irritating and more comfortable shave. These effective refueling facial cleansers further helps skin resist the effects of environmental stress and gives even dull, tired-looking skin a fresher, healthier appearance.

Buying Tips – Face Wash

There are several problems that may affect the skin if proper care is not taken regarding its cleanliness. These problems include rashes, pimples, acne, itching and more. To ensure that these problems do not affect, proper care is necessary to clean and wash the face regularly. A variety of skin cleansers are available in the market, but care should be taken while selecting them. Many people think that they have to use very strong facial cleansers or soaps for problematic skin, however it may cause problem – as a face wash, which is too acid or too alkaline may disrupt the natural protection and shine of the skin.

A mild, yet effective face wash can be selected to ensure that it not only cleanses the face properly cleanser, but will also work proactively in preventing the different skin problems. Carefully read the ingredients given on the label and look out for face washes that are made using natural ingredients. Avoid buying face cleaners that are made using harsh chemicals. It has been proved that the herbal ingredients soothe the skin and reduce inflammation and skin redness, thereby promoting general skin health.

Cleansing milks are a unique combination of natural herbs and ingredients that are used to clean and refresh skin. These skin cleansing products penetrate deep into the skin and gently remove dirt, grime and make-up. Enriched with cucumber, to provide cooling and soothing effect and soapnut to remove excess oil, cleansing milks leave the skin healthy, clean and glowing.

Cleansing milks are based on a soap-free formula and are blended with certified organic antioxidant-rich red raspberry and white grape juices with soothing aloe vera. Quality cleansing milks also contain nutrient-rich grapeseed oil and vitamins that help in gentle cleaning and provide comfort for a dewy, moist complexion.

Benefits of Cleansing Milk
With its effective cleansing action, cleansing milk leaves the skin fresh and perfectly cleansed. These creams contain sodium hyaluronate associated with cucumber extract and Vitamin E and regulate the lipo-hydric balance of skin and delays the natural aging of the skin. Some of the important benefits of cleansing milk include –

• Cleans and gently removes make-up and impurities. Enhances the suppleness and elasticity of skin
• Moisturizes and neutralizes the drying effects of hard water
• Function as effective night cleanser and help strengthen and invigorate the skin
• Support and encourages the skin’s ability to take care of itself by addressing the skin care problems rather than dealing with symptoms
• Maintains the pH of the skin within normal limits
• Regulates the lipo-hydric balance of the skin
• Leaves a clear and pure complexion
• Prevents the premature aging and delays the natural aging of skin

How it works?
Cleansing milks are generally based on dermatologically tested fine emulsion, which makes it an effecting cleanser for gentle cleaning, moisturizing and protection of skin from dirt and environmental pollutants. Cleansing milk acts deeply to remove the excess sebum, makeup and grime to open the pores. The milk functions like a very mild abrasive mask against dead cells and restore the water balance and pH by nourishing and protecting the skin.

Ingredients: Cleansing milks are generally formulated using natural ingredients and herbal extracts to clean and refresh skin. A complete list of the different ingredients that can be used to make cleansing milks is given below –

Organic juices of vitis vinifera (white grape) juice, rubus idaeus (red raspberry) juice & aloe barbadensis leaf juice, organic botanical extracts of calendula officinalis flower, matricaria chamomilla flower & tilia europea (linden) leaf, glycerin, organic plant oils of carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond), helianthus annuus (sunflower) & sesamum indicum (sesame), vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, tocopheryl acetate & tocopherol (vitamin E), sorbitan stearate, retinyl palmitate (vitamin A), phospholipids, ascorbyl palmitate (vitamin C), tetrasodium edta, panthenol (vitamin B5), allantoin, phenoxyethanol, xanthan gum, benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate, citric acid, citrus aurantium (sweet orange & orange blossom), anthemis nobilis (chamomile) & boswellia carterii (frankincense) pure essential oils.

Usage Instructions
To get maximum benefit from your cleansing milk, use it every morning and evening by massaging into damp skin of your face and neck with a circular motion. Leave it for a 2 minutes, and then wipe off with a moist cotton pad. Rinse properly with water. The application of cleansing milk can be followed by a skin toner if required.

Buying Tips – Cleansing Milk
While buying a cleansing milk, it is important to know your skin type, so that you can purchase a cleansing milk specifically meant for your skin type. Generally a cleansing milk suits all skin types well, however now days, different types of cleansing milks are available in market, which can be purchased to get maximum benefit.

Another important thing while buying cleansing milk is to carefully read the ingredients. Prefer products that are made using natural ingredients and herbal extracts. Avoid buying cleansing milk that has been formulated using harsh chemicals.

Cleansing creams are modern day faces cleaning products that are used by people to clean the face of make-up and the dust before going to bed. The layers of make-up, dust and sweat remain as a layer on the face and prevent the skin from breathing this may eventually lead to wrinkles and dullness. With their mild and effective action, cleansing creams now days have become a beneficial approach to healthy skin care.

How it works
Regular use of a cleansing cream makes the skin soft, glowing, fresh and young. Some of the important features of a cleansing cream, include –

• Deep cleansing
• Lifts make-up and impurities gently and effectively
• Maintains and supports the normal moisture level of skin
• Soothes and leaves skin soft and supple
• Maintains the pH balance thereby protects your skin from broken down

Ingredients
These creams are made with a mixture of stearic acid, mineral oil, lanolin, teropenol, tri-ethanolamine, propylene, glycol and perfume. Some of the most common ingredients that are used in making cleansing creams are –

Usage Tips
Most of the cleansing creams have grains of nut in it but they are not exfoliants, and hence you should not scrub with the product. Scrubbing causes the skin cells to tear off from the skin, which may not yet be ready to come off, thereby causing adverse reactions and sensitivity. With its effective cleansing action, the cleansing cream boosts the skin cells to slough off in a more effective manner, which makes it look glowing and healthy without needing to rub.

These creams should be used with plenty of warm water to ensure that it is properly rinsed off. Care should be taken while using the cream around the eyes. If you are having thick makeup around your eyes, then you must use a little cleansing milk on damp cotton wool to first remove it. We can use a plain cotton fabric for cleansing your face. Using a cotton fabric relaxes the skin and softens the walls of the pores allowing, which helps deep cleansing and stimulate the skins’ own functions. By using a clean cotton fabric every time you wash your face, you can prevent the occurring of cross infection. Some general usage instructions can be defined as –

• Use in morning and (or) evening
• Mix cleansing cream to a smooth paste by adding water and apply thinly to warm, damp skin.
• Work in gently using a pressing, rolling motion
• Rinse off with warm water and finish with a clean cotton fabric

Buying Tips – Cleansing Cream
While buying a cleansing cream, it is important that you carefully read its ingredient list. Try to look for products that are made of natural herbs and oils as they don’t have any side effects and make the skin look healthy and glowing. Cheap commercial creams should be avoided. Also try to buy a cleansing creams that suits your particular skin type and age.

Due to the increasing awareness towards health and hygiene, toilet soaps have now become a necessity for people in modern life. Urbanization and developments in the industry has led to the increase in demand as well as improvement in quality of products. With the advent of new technologies and sophisticated manufacturing practices, the development processes have improved and as a result of which, the markets are flooded with a variety of soaps that vary in both the physical as well as functional attributes. The toilet soaps can be broadly categorized into several types of soaps, such as –

These different types of toilet soaps are designed and manufactured on the basis of several factors, such as weather conditions, skin type, lifestyle and preferences of people. Good quality toilet soap can greatly affect how your skin looks and feel while improving its overall condition.
While some soaps are designed for beauty, some for removing odor

Sizes
Toilet soaps come in several sizes for different purposes and requirements, such as –

• Small toilet soaps – Small toilet soaps generally come in weight of 10 gm to 30 gm and are specially designed for hotel industries and travel requirements.
• Normal toilet bath bar soap – The normal toilet bath bar soap come in weight of 75 gm to 100 gm that are usually developed for mass consumption.

Ingredients
Along with fats and oils, toilet soaps are made using a variety of ingredients, which depends on the type of soap and properties required. Some most common ingredients that are used in making toilet soaps are fats, alkalis, essential oils, fragrances, glycerin, blends, distilled water, cocoa butter, and more. Function and applications of some ingredients, which are used in soapmaking, are –

• Pearlizing agents are added to opacify the formula and give it a more pleasing appearance
• Fragrances are added to mask the odor of the base and increase consumer appeal
• Thickeners are added to increase the viscosity of product
• Colorants may also be included to improve the appearance of product
• Primary surfactants are added foam and cleansing, while secondary surfactants are added to give the foam more creaminess and improve the skin feel

Buying Tips – Toilet Soap
While buying toilet soap, one of the most important factor that you should keep in your mind is to buy a soap that suits your skin type and your requirements. For example if you have a dry skin condition, then go for a dry skin, for a oily skin, look for a oily skin soap and for a normal skin, buy a normal skin soap. Carefully read the ingredients to make sure that your soap does not contain any harmful chemicals or toxins. Generally the soaps made through cold process technique should be preferred as they retain glycerin, which is a natural byproduct of soapmaking process. Glycerin rich soaps have proved to be good in moisturizing characteristics.

Detergent builders are materials, which can be used to bind cations (mainly calcium, Ca2+, and magnesium Mg2+) contained in wash solutions that results in water softening. Builders enhance the quality of the water, thereby making the detergents work in a more effective and efficient manner.

Detergent builders soften water by holding free water ions, such as magnesium and calcium. This prevents these particles to react with other ingredients of detergent, which would have caused them to work less efficiently or precipitate from solution (soap scum). They can produce insoluble salts, which become beset in the clothes and deposit on solid surfaces inside the washing machine. In this manner, builders also help in extending the life of the washing machine. Soil molecules are sometimes bound to the clothes surface by calcium ion bridging, removal of hardness from the environment and therefore help in removal of stains. Sometimes more than one detergent builder is used in a product, to develop a builder system with more effective cleaning performance.

Types
On the basis of characteristics and properties, detergent builders can be categorized into two types

• Organic detergent builders
• Inorganic detergent builders

Detergents, as we know, consist of surfactants and chelating agents. Surfactants remove and clean dirt from a soiled surface, while chelating agents are used to surround unwanted metal ions that are found in cleaning solutions. Though very effective, chelating process is expensive and is not always necessary and in cases such as these, builders have found to be a good alternative. Builders improve the detergency action, and being relatively cheap, less can be used of the more expensive detergents of superior activity.

Traditionally, sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) was the builder of choice. It offers superior water softening because of its high binding capacity for heavy metals and calcium ions, good buffering properties that contribute to detergency action and superior anti-redeposition properties. In addition, the position of STPP as a preferred builder during 1940s-1970s was further boosted because of its low toxicity. Although STPP has low toxicity, as a nutrient, it has the potential result in eutrophication (a term used to describe water that is ‘over rich’ in nutrients, and may to an excessive growth of algae). This led to the search for alternative products and the development of synthetic detergent Zeolite, which now days, is the principle alternative to phosphate builders.

Properties
Builders are basically water softeners that are used to soften wash water by extracting and binding the magnesium and calcium ions. Due to the action of builder, the availability of these ions is removed from the wash-water solution, and as result the hardness of wash-water is removed. Depending on the type of builder, other benefits may be available, such as –

• Buffering of wash water in the alkaline range
• Help prevent the redeposition of soils after they have been removed from the fabric by surfactants
• Carry absorbed liquid components in the products, like surfactants so as to produce a dry and free flowing powder
• Typically improve the wetting and emulsification characteristics of detergent

Advantages
The prime function of detergent builders is to upgrade and prevent the cleaning efficiency of surfactants. Builders offer a number of advantages, including softening, buffering, and emulsifying. Some of the important advantages of using a builder in a wash solution are –

• Soften water by deactivating the hardness minerals (metal ions such as calcium and magnesium. The softening process is followed by two processes – one is sequestration (holding metal ions in solution) and another is precipitation (removing metal ions from solution as insoluble materials).
• In addition to softening, builders also provide a desirable level of alkalinity (increase pH) that improves cleaning performance. They also work as buffer to maintain suitable alkalinity in wash water.
• Help emulsify oily and greasy soil by breaking it up into small parts. Different builders in reality peptize or suspend loosened dirt and keep them from settling back on the cleaned surface.