Celquat® SC-230M is a high-viscosity, surfactant-compatible, water-soluble cationic polymer designed for personal care products. It enhances wet combability, detangling, body, lubricity, and provides a rich feel while delivering significant thickening effects. This product is suitable for use in skin lotions, cleansers, face washes, body creams, and hair care applications, including shampoos, conditioners, and styling products. It offers excellent rheological properties, smooth feel, and non-tacky characteristics, along with film-forming, static reduction, and gloss enhancement benefits. Celquat® SC-230M is compliant with various global chemical inventories, including TSCA (USA), AICS (Australia), ISHL (Japan), and IECSC (China). The INCI name is Polyquaternium-10, and it is available in powder form, soluble in water.

INCI Name: Polyquaternium-10

Labeling Claims: Not Listed In California Proposition 65

Certifications & Compliance: Clean Air Act (CAA) Certified, Clean Water Act (CWA) Certified, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensations & Liability Act (CERCLA), Hazardous Material Information System (HMIS), National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA)

Benefit Claims: Aesthetic Enhancement, Compatibility, Detangling, Film Forming, Gloss Enhancement, Good Rheological Properties, Good Wet Combing, High Viscosity, Imparts Lubricity, Improved Stability, Improves Clarity, Non-Tacky, Rich Feel, Smooth Feel, Static Reduction

Enhanced TDS

Identification & Functionality

INCI Name
Manufactured By
Cosmetic Ingredients Functions
Technologies
Product Families
Chemical Structure

Celquat® SC-230M polymer chemistry

Celquat® SC-230M - Chemical Structure - 1

Features & Benefits

Benefit Claims
Labeling Claims
Key Features
  • Substantive to hair and skin
  • Surfactant compatibility
  • Clarity
  • Rheology modification
  • Lubricity
  • Imparts smooth, rich feel to hair and skin
  • Forms clear aqueous solutions and non-tacky continuous films
  • Improves wet combability
  • Improves gloss and anti-static properties on hair

Applications & Uses

Markets
Applications
Application Format
Bath & Shower Applications
Hair Care Applications
Skin Care Applications
Use Level
0.1 - 0.5% (cleansing applications)
Product Applications

Celquat SC-230M polymer has excellent conditioning and thickening properties, and can be used in a wide variety of hair and skin applications, including shampoos, conditioners, body/facial washes, cleansers, styling aids and lotions/creams.

Formulation Guidelines

The choice of the appropriate Celquat conditioning polymer to use may depend on the end use. The high viscosity Celquat® SC-230M polymer is best suited for thicker pour out cleansing products, creams, and gels. Other Celquat polymers may be better suited for use in actuated products such as mousses and spritzes, as well as lower viscosity shampoo and pour out products.

Solubility
The Celquat® SC-230M polymer is water soluble. For optimal results, prepare the Celquat polymer solution as a separate phase. Slowly sift the powder into water while stirring. Sifting slowly will avoid the formation of fisheyes and gels. Heat and moderate agitation will increase the solubility rate of the polymer. The polymer is completely hydrated when the solution is clear and there are no insolubles present. Complete hydration is important to ensure homogeneity, viscosity stability, formulation stability, and clarity.

Surfactant systems containing the Celquat® SC-230M polymer can easily be prepared with the fully hydrated Celquat solutions (incompatibilities can result if the Celquat polymer is added directly to the surfactant solutions). The preferred method is to slowly add the surfactants to the fully hydrated Celquat® SC-230M polymer solution. Add the nonionic and amphoteric surfactants first and then add the anionic surfactants. Continue mixing until uniform, and then add the balance of ingredients. It is also possible to add a hydrated Celquat® SC-230M polymer pre-mix solution to the main batch with good agitation.

Celquat® SC-230M polymer is not soluble in such alcohols as ethanol and isopropanol. It can tolerate up to 65% alcohol as a diluent. To incorporate alcohol, solubilize the polymer in a water/alcohol blend or add alcohol to an aqueous polymer solution. At 2% polymer by weight, the Celquat® SC-230M polymer will thicken a 65% alcohol solution to a viscosity of approximately 10,000 cps (spindle #5, 50 rpm, 25°C).

pH stability
Solutions of the Celquat® SC-230M polymer are subject to chemical hydrolysis at extreme pH. For optimum stability, a pH range of 4 to 8 is recommended.

Thickening
The Celquat® SC-230M polymer provides multifunctional benefits to a formulation. In addition to providing conditioning benefits from a shampoo, the Celquat® SC-230M polymer also acts as a thickener. The graph below illustrates the viscosity of Celquat® SC-230M polymer at various solids levels.

Celquat® SC-230M - Formulation Guidelines - 1
If additional thickening is required, this polymer can tolerate electrolytes added to build viscosity in concentrated surfactant systems. Other materials can also be used to control viscosity. Commonly used cellulosic type thickeners are effective in raising the solution viscosity, including hydroxyethyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. Finally, effective associative thickeners can raise the viscosity of solutions containing the Celquat® SC-230M conditioning polymer.

Preservation
Aqueous solutions of Celquat polymers are subject to bacteriological growth and enzyme catalyzed degradation. Preservatives suggested for consideration are DMDM hydantoin, methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, Germall® 115 and 2 nitro-2 bromo-1, 3 propanediol. The presence of alcohol will also minimize bacteriological growth.

Properties

Physical Form
Soluble In
Typical Properties
ValueUnitsTest Method / Conditions
Application pH Range4 - 8--
Viscosity (spindle #5, 50 rpm, 25°C)10000cPs-
SDS Physical and Chemical Properties
ValueUnitsTest Method / Conditions
Dust Deflagration Index36.1m.b/s-
Dust Explosion ClassSt1--
Bulk Density500kg/m³-
Lower Explosion Limit30000mg/m³-
Flammability (Solid, Gas)May form combustible dust concentrations in air during processing, handling or other means.--
pH Value (at 1% solution)5 - 8--
OdorSlight--
ColorTan--
AppearancePowder--
Soluble inWater--
Compatibility

Surfactant
The Celquat® SC-230M polymer is an ideal way of adding conditioning functionality to a shampoo. The polymer was developed to be compatible with a wide variety of anionic, amphoteric, and non-ionic surfactants including:Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

  • Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
  • Sodium Laureth Sulfate
  • Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine
  • PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate
  • Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
  • Olefin Sulfonate
  • Cocamide MEA

Regulatory & Compliance

Technical Details & Test Data

Product Information

Celquat SC-230M polymer is one member of the Celquat family of polymers that are water soluble quaternary cellulose derivatives. Other Celquat polymers offered include:

  • Celquat H-100 polymer, Polyquaternium-4
  • Celquat L-200 polymer, Polyquaternium-4
  • Celquat SC-240C polymer, Polyquaternium-10

Celquat SC-230M polymer is a high viscosity building quaternized conditioning polymer. It is prepared by reacting a trimethyl ammonium substituted epoxide onto the hydroxyl groups of the hydroxyethyl cellulose backbone. This reaction yields a polymer with a dispersed series of cationic charges along the polymer chain. This polymer is a higher viscosity variant of its chemically similar sister product, the Celquat SC-240C polymer.

Performance Properties

Substantivity
The cationic charge on the Celquat® SC-230M polymer makes it substantive to keratinous substrates such as hair and skin.
The substantivity of the Celquat® SC-230M polymer has been defined using the Lumicrease Dye Test. In this experiment, dyeing wool swatches with an anionic polyazo sulfonate dye after they have been treated with the cationic polymer quantifies deposition of cationic conditioning polymers. Wool is similar to human hair and skin in adsorptive and charge properties and can be used as an efficient substitute substrate for hair testing. The dye is attracted to the deposited cationic polymer. A colorimeter is used to measure the degree of adsorption on each sample via intensity of the dye. The swatches are tested for deposition after 1 wash (1) and 10 washes (10). The 1 wash data is indicative of substantivity, and a significantly higher value for the 10 wash reading over the 1 wash reading is indicative of build-up.
As is in the graph below, Celquat® SC-230M polymer is significantly less substantive than the Celquat® L-200 and Celquat® H-100 polymers, but is more substantive than the Celquat® SC-240C analog. Based on the 10 wash results, this polymer may have some potential for build-up on this substrate.

Substantivity of Celquat conditioning polymers

Celquat® SC-230M - Performance properties - 1
Wet comb performance
The conditioning properties for the Celquat® SC-230M polymer are readily seen in wet comb force reduction studies. Rinse-off wet combing properties were tested on damaged hair using the following model shampoo system:

Ingredient%
Celquat polymer0.5
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate10.5
Cocamidopropyl Betaine3.3
Cocamide MEA0.5
Preservative0.4
Ammonium Chloride0.2
Waterup to 100

 

The wet combing studies were performed using the Sintech MTS Synergie 200 tensile tester in a constant temperature humidity room. The reported values are the average data from three sets of tresses. Each tress set represents averaged data for three replicates. The results in the graph below show that the Celquat® SC-230M polymer significantly reduces wet comb force in the shampoo application after rinse off, more so than the other Celquat polymers.

Celquat® SC-230M - Performance properties - 1

 

Safety & Health

Health and Safety

A health and safety summary for Celquat L-200 polymer is available upon request. Information on Celquat L-200 polymer relating to EU Cosmetic Directive 76/768/EEC. This product may be used in spray applications having a droplet particle size greater than 50 microns. The product has not been properly evaluated for safety clearance for use in pumps and/or aerosols with particle sizes less than 50 microns.
The suitability of the final formulations should be confirmed in all respect by appropriate evaluation. The marketer is advised to evaluate the final formulation with regard to performance
and health safety.

Storage & Handling

Storage Information

Celquat SC-230M polymer product should be stored in a cool, dry location away from heat, sparks or fire. When not in use, the container should be kept closed to prevent moisture and dust contamination. We recommend that normal precautions be taken to avoid ingestion or contact with eyes. Respiratory protection should be used to avoid dust inhalation. Good industrial hygiene practices should be followed.