Foaming Apple
INCI: Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids
| WHAT | Surfactant; cleanser |
| USAGE RATE | 5 – 30% |
| CHARGE | anionic |
Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids, better known as Foaming Apple, is a newer surfactant that can be used to make shampoos, body washes, and facial cleansers. Yes, it’s a sulfate free surfactant for those who only want to know whether or not it’s a sulfate because they don’t want to skim through the rest of this write-up. LOL! 😛
Here’s a very short clip of me testing it out in a lemongrass based facial cleanser:
It’s anionic in nature, which means it should provide an elevated level of cleansing power in comparison to it’s nonionic colleagues. However, it’s marketed by some suppliers as a gentle, “secondary” surfactant.
I’m not sure if that means it’s “secondary” to the other types of surfactants that should be in your mix OR if you need to add another anionic surfactant when using this. Judging from how well it worked, I’m going to go with the former. I’ve had no issue using Foaming Apple as the main anionic surfactant in a face wash (for example). It works very well.
You may know it by the name “PROTEOL™ APL EF“, which is made by SEPPIC. It’s said to be “preservative-free” and “EDTA-free”, if that’s important to you (4). By the way, they make one made from oats called “PROTEOL™ OAT PF” or Foaming Oats. But I digress.
Sodium Cocoyl Apple Amino Acids is made using amino acids like those found in apple juice (1). It’s said to be gentle or “ultra-mild”, so the resellers are marketing it as “an excellent choice for sensitive skin, baby products, facial products” and anything else meant to cleanse the skin or body (2).
As such, the irritation level of Foaming Apple is reportedly non-existent. If you need something that won’t irritate your skin or scalp, maybe you should try this before you reach for something like Alpha Olefin or any of the other powerhouse anionic surfactants. Of course, you should always test things on a small area of the skin if your skin is sensitive.
The foam created by this product allegedly lasts longer than traditional surfactants (5). I haven’t paid too much attention to this comparison in my tests, but I have noticed the foam is pretty good. It doesn’t dissipate as quickly as some other surfactants.
Here’s a non-exhaustive list of things you can make with it (3)(5):
Sensitive skin cleansers
Shampoos
Facial cleansers
Micellar waters
Shower gels/body washes
Hand cleansers
Intimate care cleansers
Wipes
Makeup removers
Foaming emulsions
Suncare
There’s an interesting situation that happened with Foaming apple and Crothix from an experimental formula I was working on. I added the same amount of Crothix (very small) as I would to any shampoo ( about 1gram) to a facial cleansing recipe and I swear it turned into a self-healing cleansing gel. LOL! What I mean by “self-healing” is that after some time, the gel meshes back into place instead of leaving indentations where you’ve scooped out some of the gel.
Try it out and see if you like it! I bought mine from Formulator Sample Shop, but you can also find it at Lotioncrafter and The Herbarie.
