Which mild surfactant would you use for toothpaste?
There is a huge variety of surfactants for toothpaste and mouthwash. The most commonly used is sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). It works well, but it can be harsh for the oral mucosa and the oral microbiome, depending on your formulation.
That’s why brands look at milder alternatives. Biosurfactants can be especially interesting: they tend to be gentler and can bring additional functional benefits, depending on the type.
A type of biosurfactants is the glycolipid family, which includes rhamnolipids and sophorolipids.
In these space there are several players like Evonik with Rheance One, Holiferm and BioReNuva.
But changing to biosurfactants is not plug and play. Each behaves differently, so your formulation needs to be adjusted to get the foam, clarity, stability and mouthfeel you want.
Here is where Nequia can help. We help brands selecting the right surfactant(s) for your formulation. Also we can look into helping to make your formulation less harsh for the oral microbiome.
Which surfactant do you prefer working with?
The future of oral care starts now. Let’s formulate it together!