DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE
DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE is a quaternary ammonium compound with two long chains attached to nitrogen. The same compound is listed in chemical references as dimethyldioctadecylammonium, so the ingredient-list name can look quite different from the technical name used in chemical catalogues.
DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE: what it is
DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE is a quaternary ammonium compound with two long chains attached to nitrogen. The same compound is listed in chemical references as dimethyldioctadecylammonium, so the ingredient-list name can look quite different from the technical name used in chemical catalogues.
The two stearyl chains are long, eighteen-carbon hydrocarbon sections. This is not a plant extract or a stearin oil: it is a defined organic salt, also found under the synonym Quaternium-5 in some name lists.
DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE: what it does in cosmetics
In hair products, DISTEARYLDIMONIUM CHLORIDE is used to condition the strands. Hair conditioning is meant to make the fibre easier to comb and less rough to the touch after washing; what a person notices still depends on the amount used and on the rest of the product.
Its antistatic function relates to reducing static electricity at the hair surface, the effect associated with flyaway strands that repel one another. That explains its place in rinse-off and finishing hair formulas, but it does not mean the ingredient treats hair loss, dandruff, or hair damage.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
