Surfactant - cleansing

Ingredients with surfactant cleansing function help the water to mix better with sebum, makeup residues and other impurities so that they can be easily washed off. This is possible due to the structure of the molecule: one part attracts water, and the other part attracts fats. Due to this, such substances reduce surface tension, improve the wetting of skin and hair, and transfer impurities to the aqueous phase when washing or shampooing. Surfactants also affect the consumer properties of the product: they can enhance foaming, make cleansing more comfortable and help the formula to be evenly distributed over the skin or hair. (britannica.com)

In cosmetics, this function is especially important for face wash gels, shampoos, shower products, and micellar formulas. On the skin, such components remove excess sebum, dust and remnants of sunscreens or decorative products, and on the hair — sebum and impurities that make the length heavier and deprive it of freshness. At the same time, the softness of cleansing depends not only on the surfactant itself, but also on the entire formula.: combinations of several surfactants, pH levels, and the presence of emollient additives. The FDA also notes that skin cleansers are classified as cosmetic products if they are specifically intended for cleansing without therapeutic applications. (fda.gov)

Typical examples of such ingredients are sodium-cocoyl-isethionate">Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate and Coco-Glucoside. The former is often used in mild cleansers and syndet bars, the latter in shampoos and gels as a more delicate nonionic surfactant. Both examples are widely used precisely as cleansing surfactants in cosmetic formulas. (cir-safety.org)