The Sorption of Surfactants by Human Hair and Textile Fibers and the Kinetic Frictional Coefficient of Human Hair

The sorption of cationic and anionic surfactants by human hair, wool, and cotton has been studied. The sorption of surfactants decreased in the following order: wool>hair>cotton. The rate of sorption was found to be practically constant as long as the surfactants amounting to more than the cmc were present in the solution. The addition of oils decreased the amount of sorption of surfactants at relatively low concentrations of surfactant. The effect of cationics on reducing surface friction of human hair markedly depended on the alkyl chain length of the cationics. The following order of reducing surface friction was found: C22>DiC18≅C18>C16>C12. Cationics and oils sorbed by human hair were not easily desorbed by washing with water.