How to Use AccessQUAT 550 in Your Formulations
What AccessQUAT 550 Does
Have you ever noticed how hair can feel tangled and rough after shampooing? AccessQUAT 550 solves that problem. It’s a conditioning ingredient that makes hair feel silky, smooth, and easy to comb through. It works because hair and skin have a slightly negative charge, especially when damaged. AccessQUAT 550 has a positive charge (which is why it’s called a “cationic” ingredient), so it’s attracted to the hair and skin like a magnet.
When you use it in a shampoo or conditioner, it forms a very thin, invisible film on the surface of each hair strand. This film smooths down the hair cuticle, which reduces friction and makes tangles slip right out. The same principle applies to skin. In a face or body wash, it leaves behind a light layer of conditioning that makes your skin feel soft and moisturized, not tight and stripped.
For the chemistry-minded: AccessQUAT 550, or Polyquaternium-7, is a copolymer with a high charge density. This allows it to be highly substantive, meaning it effectively adsorbs onto negatively charged surfaces like keratin (hair and skin) to provide conditioning benefits that resist being rinsed away immediately.
Formulation Tips
AccessQUAT 550 is very easy for formulators of all levels to work with. A good starting point is 0.5–2% for shampoos and cleansers, and 2–5% for more intensive rinse-off conditioners or hair masks.
This ingredient is a liquid and is fully soluble in water, so you can add it directly to the water phase of your formula. It can be added before heating or during the cool-down phase, making it very flexible. It has excellent stability over a wide pH range (from 3 to 12), so you don’t have to worry about it losing effectiveness in different types of products.
One of its best features is its compatibility with most types of surfactants, including anionic surfactants like sulfates and sulfonates that are common in shampoos. This means you can create a high-foaming cleansing product that also leaves the hair and skin feeling wonderfully conditioned.
Key Performance Benefits:
- Superior Detangling: Significantly improves both wet and dry combing, reducing friction and preventing hair breakage during styling.
- Silky, Smooth Feel: Leaves hair and skin feeling soft, smooth, and luxurious without a heavy, greasy residue; provides excellent slip to formulations.
- Anti-Static & Frizz Control: Neutralizes static charges on the hair, helping to tame flyaways and control frizz for a more polished look.
- Improves Foam Quality: In cleansing products like shampoos and body washes, it can help stabilize the foam, making it feel richer and more creamy.
- Excellent Compatibility: Works well with a wide variety of cosmetic ingredients, including anionic, non-ionic, and amphoteric surfactants, making it ideal for 2-in-1 conditioning shampoos.
- Wide pH Stability: Remains effective and stable across a broad pH range (3–12), giving you the freedom to use it in many different types of formulas.