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Why is citric acid in shampoo and conditioner?
Quickstart:
"Citric acid is used to adjust the pH
⇦ huh? down to 5.5 (ish). It is a fairly weak acid which makes the adjustment easier. it also has a small amount of preservative action. Citric acid, as opposed to any other acid, will prevent bacterial growth." [courtesy of Ciaron Murphy]
Q. I am doing research in my Chem 2 class on why certain chemicals are in household products and I was wondering if you could tell me why citric acid is in many shampoos and conditioners. If you could tell me it would be great. Thanks
Kasey S [surname of minor removed by Editor]- Chesaning, Michigan
2000
A. Citric acid isn't used because of the smell. Fragrances are added for that purpose. It has a two-fold reason for addition. Shampoos usually are at pH 5.5 because at slightly acidic pH ⇦ huh? the scales on a hair follicle lay flat making the hair feel smooth and look shiny. citric acid is used to adjust the pH down to 5.5 (ish). It is a fairly weak acid which makes the adjustment easier. it also has a small amount of preservative action. citric acid as opposed to any other acid will prevent bacterial growth. (I used to work in the lab for a cosmetics company)
Ciaron MurphyNordam Europe - Great Britain
"I used to work in the lab for a cosmetics company"
It shows, Ciaron. Thanks for the great answer!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
!! Hey thanks for the great answer! It really helped me on my science fair project!
Rebecca [surname of minor removed by Editor]- NLR, California
2004
Q. Wow...Thanks for the info, but what is pH 5.5?
Pat [surname of minor removed by Editor]- Gaithersburg, Maryland
2004
A. The full definition of pH is: "the negative antiloglog of the hydronium ion concentration", but I don't know if that wording is beyond your grade level, Pat. The easy way to look at it is that a pH of 0 is as acidic as you can get, a pH of 14 is as alkaline as you get, and a pH of 7 is neutral.
Depending on what grade you're in, you may or may not have been taught logarithmic scales. In a logarithmic scale you count the orders of magnitude, i.e., the zeroes at the end of a whole number. So pH of 5.5 is slightly acidic, but it's less acidic than a pH of 5.0. And in turn, a pH of 5.0 is only one-tenth as acidic as a pH of 4.0, only one-hundredth as acidic as 3.0, only a thousandth as acidic as 2.0, etc. Good luck!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
2004
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@ Ted Mooney, P.E. RET Cal State Univ. Chico - Chico, California, USA July 18, 2012 Thanks T.J. You're right that pH is the negative log, not the negative antilog; thanks for correcting this silly mind-slip. But if you google "why do we say pH ranges from 0-14" you'll understand why this site and thousands of others use those numbers, especially on threads where some of the readers are small children who may be lost if we bandy negative numbers about. Kids from 2nd & 3rd grade come to this page for science fair help, but so do high school seniors; since I don't know whether Pat is in 2nd grade or senior year, "Depending on what grade you're in" seemed more appropriate than possibly leaving a 2nd-grader with the impression that she needs to understand logarithms as well as negative numbers before proceeding with her science project Ted Mooney, P.E. Striving to live Aloha finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey |
Q. Hiya. I'm 10 years old, and 27 of us kids (and 1 teacher) want to know whether shampoo is an acid, base or neutral. I'm in Grade 6.
Christopher J. [surname of minor removed by Editor]I'm just in Grade 6! - Bundaberg, Qld, Australia
2007
A. Ciaron Murphy has answered that question on this page, Christopher. If his response is confusing to you, please rephrase your question in terms of his answer? Thanks!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Thanks for the help everyone; it really helped me on my E.C. health homework. I was just wondering if citric acid is in bath and body volumizing shampoo?
Tom B [surname of minor removed by Editor]homework - St. Paul, Minnesota
March 18, 2008
Why is shampoo acidic and conditioner alkaline?
Q. Most shampoos that we use everyday are acidic while conditioners are alkaline. Why are these shampoos and conditioners manufactured to be acidic and alkaline respectively? What are the benefits to hair care? Can you please also enlighten me on how 2-in-1 shampoos work? Thank you!
Wei L [surname of minor removed by Editor]student - Singapore
June 19, 2008
What is right pH for shampoo?
Q. What pH should shampoo & conditioner have?
Sarah W. [surname of minor removed by Editor]student - England
October 6, 2008
A. Hi, Sarah. Half of that answer is on this page already. Please try your best to phrase your questions in view of what has already been said so that we don't make things hard for others by going in circles. Thank you.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. Hi, I am Trina, Manager, of a Boutique in Williams Lake, B.C
We sell a mild detergent called 'Forever New', (citric base) ⇨
It prevents the elasticity in under garments from breaking down. I have had no complaints with this product, though I have had one customer enquire about it, because she has had a reaction to one of two products she is using in her home. I have been helping her with new information, and am trying to get a little bit more :) Any suggestions would be very beneficial for myself and my customers.
Thank-you Very Much
Kind Regards
Trina
supervisor sales associate - Williams Lake, B.C., Canada
February 19, 2010
A. Hi, Trina.. Citric-based means based on citric acid , which is an acid in citrus fruits. But chemical formulations are complex. You should probably ask the manufacturer for the MSDS for this product (material safety data sheet) and pass that on to your customer. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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Q. Hello,
I'm venturing into the world of homemade hair care and I'm trying to make a coconut oil based conditioner (along with neem oil, tea tree, rosemary & lavender essential oils) that rinses out well and doesn't leave hair oily. We have very fine hair and oily scalps so this is definitely an issue. Would adding citric acid to my recipe help with this? I know there are many other oils I could use, but the coconut oil is particularly important because it helps deter lice (something that's a big problem in this area and I want to be preventative). Thanks so much!
- Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, USA
September 22, 2012
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