Cationic Compounds in Cosmetics
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (And the extremely long-winded post) Here I’m referring to 2 classes of chemicals: quaternary cationic surfactants and cationic polymers. First off, cationic means something has a (net) positive charge (+). Hair has a net negative charge at the pH environment in which it usually exists (somewhere between pH 4.5 and 5 is average). This charge is mostly because of it’s composition, although damaged hair has more potential bonding sites (negative charges) than less-damaged hair. I fear I’m about to give the impression that these ingredients are bad for your hair. They are not, in fact, they are responsible for silky, smooth, lustrous hair that holds a style. They help define waves and curls and protect damaged hair/protect hair from damage. They can prevent flyaway hair and the high fluff/frizz factor that comes with wavy and curly hair. What? You have straight hair that frizzes? Then no, you don’t have completely straight hair – you have some waves. These in...