Polyquaternium-113 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a cationic conditioning polymer used mainly in hair care to reduce combing force, static, and frizz while adding a light film-forming feel. It helps deposit conditioning benefits onto negatively charged hair fibers, especially in shampoos, conditioners, and styling products.
What does Polyquaternium-113 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a cationic conditioning polymer used mainly in hair care to reduce combing force, static, and frizz while adding a light film-forming feel. It helps deposit conditioning benefits onto negatively charged hair fibers, especially in shampoos, conditioners, and styling products.
Is Polyquaternium-113 clean?
This ingredient has clean-standard friction because it is a synthetic quaternary ammonium polymer with limited biodegradability data and potential aquatic-impact concerns. It is generally used at low levels and is not a common sensitizer, but stricter clean frameworks often treat this chemistry cautiously.
Is Polyquaternium-113 sustainable?
This material is typically made from synthetic, petrochemical-derived monomers rather than renewable feedstocks. Like many cationic polymers, it is not expected to be readily biodegradable, so wastewater persistence is the main sustainability issue.
Is Polyquaternium-113 COSMOS-approved?
This ingredient is not aligned with COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it is a synthetic quaternized polymer. From a Green Chemistry perspective, its profile is weakened by nonrenewable sourcing, low biodegradability, and limited end-of-life circularity.
How does Polyquaternium-113 work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, positively charged polymer designed to bind to negatively charged keratin surfaces and leave a conditioning film after rinsing. It is typically used at low active levels in rinse-off and leave-on hair products, and performance depends strongly on charge density, surfactant compatibility, salt level, and formula pH.
Last updated 2026-05-13