Polyquaternium-77 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient is a cationic conditioning polymer used to improve slip, detangling, combability, and antistatic feel on hair. It can also leave a light film that supports smoothness and frizz control.
What does Polyquaternium-77 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient is a cationic conditioning polymer used to improve slip, detangling, combability, and antistatic feel on hair. It can also leave a light film that supports smoothness and frizz control.
Is Polyquaternium-77 clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, the main concern is not typical skin tolerance but its synthetic quaternary polymer profile. It has friction with natural and biodegradable-focused standards because these materials can be persistent in wastewater systems.
Is Polyquaternium-77 sustainable?
This material is typically made from synthetic, petroleum-derived monomers rather than renewable feedstocks. As a water-soluble cationic polymer, it is not expected to be readily biodegradable and may be partly removed during wastewater treatment through binding to sludge.
Is Polyquaternium-77 COSMOS-approved?
It is not permitted under COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards as a conventional synthetic quaternary polymer. Its Green Chemistry alignment is weak because of nonrenewable feedstocks and limited biodegradability, even though it is used at low levels in finished formulas.
How does Polyquaternium-77 work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight, permanently cationic polymer with quaternary ammonium sites that bind to negatively charged hair fibers. Typical use is often around 0.1% to 2% active in hair-care systems, and it is generally stable in mildly acidic to neutral pH formulas, though it can complex with anionic surfactants or polymers and affect clarity or viscosity.
Last updated 2026-05-13