CETAC – Cetrimonium Chloride (CETAC 30%)
Shelf life: 2 years
Usage rate:
Recommended Supplier Rinse off: 0.25 – 10% (NO WAY would I use this at 10%!!)
Recommended Supplier Leave-in: 0.25%
Cetrimonium Chloride is definitely not a natural product, but it’s one of the most widely used and effective conditioners around. If you’ve used old-school commercial conditioners before, chances are this was one of the ingredients. It’s used to fight frizz (reduced static electricity) and improve the manageability of the hair.
You’re more likely to get a product that has a certain percentage of the active ingredient in it. The one at lotioncrafter.com is a 29-30% active solution of cetyl trimethyl ammonium chloride, the ingredient that gives CETAC it’s conditioning nature.
I’m certainly not telling you to buy CETAC, but I wanted to check it out to see what, if anything, could be gained by using it. It certainly is not at the top of any of my recommendations for conditioners. There are just much better, less irritating options (like BTMS-50 and Varisoft).
CETAC also has antibacterial properties and is know as a “topical antiseptic and a preservative”. That doesn’t mean you can substitute CETAC for a real, broad-spectrum preservative though!
Because Cetrimonium Chloride can be irritating at higher percentages, if you want to use this in leave-in conditioners, it’s recommended that you use no more than 0.25%.
That means for a 227 gram (8 ounce) leave-in conditioner, use no more than 0.57 grams of CETAC. That’s a very small amount, but that’s the recommendation for products you won’t be rinsing out of your hair.
I’m not recommending this for you, but I think I’m going to try this at 0.25% in an 8 ounce leave-in conditioner just to see if this works well and what, if any, irritation there may be. I’m not going to go higher than that for a leave-in conditioner.
I wouldn’t do this at all if Cetrimonium Chloride wasn’t in dang near every traditional store-bought leave-in conditioner I’ve tried.
Since the product is liquid, use a dropper to measure out the CETAC. Trying to pour it could cause you to add too much accidentally.
For RINSE OFF conditioners, the sweet-spot recommendation is 2%. That means for a 227 gram (8 ounce) rinse-off conditioner, use no more than 4.5 grams of CETAC. But IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED to allow this to stay on your hair for an extended period of time.
NOTE
Made Beautiful True Nourishing Leave In Conditioner
ApHogee Pro Vitamin Leave In Conditioner
Neutrogena Triple Moisture Silk Touch Leave-In Conditioner
Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla 4 in 1 Combing Creme
Carol’s Daughter Hair Milk Refresher Spray
EDEN BodyWorks Coconut Shea All Natural Leave In Conditioner
Eden BodyWorks Coconut Shea Medium Hold Natural Curl Defining Creme
Silk Elements Jojoba Oil Leave In Conditioning Spray
Mystic Divine Hydrating Leave In Conditioner
Rusk Smoother Passionflower & Aloe Smoothing Conditioner
Related
CETAC 30%, Cetrimonium Chloride
I’m concerned about using this product in a hair foam. Do you know of any cons? Thanks
My favorite leave-in conditioner formula here is the Almond Mint Leave-In Conditioner w/ Peppermint and Chickweed
https://www.curlytea.com/0630/almond-mint-leavein-conditioner.html
However, it uses a behentrimonium chloride based emulsifier blend that you may or may not like called “ICE Conditioner”.
I have to admit my favorite conditioning emulsifier right now is the AminoSensyl HC. (HC is the one for hair) It’s not BTMS or based on the same quat-conditioning system that BTMS is. If you’re having issues with BTMS or behentrimonium being too heavy, I think you should try AminoSensyl HC if you can find it. I’m in the US and had to order it from a Canadian supplier:
https://soapandmore.ca/products/aminosensyl%E2%84%A2-hc-palm-free-emulsifier-palm?variant=40177236934826
By the way, I’ve noticed the creams are “creamier” with AminoSensyl HC in comparison to BTMS-50.
If you’re looking for a deep conditioner, you can use it as well. I created a Hair Mask using AminoSensyl HC here:
https://www.curlytea.com/0825/hyaluronic-hair-mask-hemp-seed.html
If you want your hair to feel deep conditioned for a while, I still think a combination of any of the following would be good:
Behentrimonium chloride + CETAC + hydrolyzed protein
BTMS and CETAC
Behentrimonium chloride + Stearamidopropyl dimethylamine (finicky to work with) + a polyquat
Varisoft EQ 65 + hydrolyzed proteins
AninoSensyl HC + Cationic Hyaluronic Acid
Polyquaternium 37 + any compatible cationic emulsifier (I haven’t even posted a formula for that one yet!)