Lecithinamide DEA is a chemical compound, a mixture of ethanolamides of the lecithin fatty acids. DEA (diethanolamine) is a water-soluble molecule obtained by the reaction of ethylene oxide with ammonia. DEA shows reactive capacity is an aminoalcohol as it combines the properties of alcohols and amines.

Safety

Some of the scientific literature warns of the possible danger of DEA, while a 1998 study by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) did not establish a link between DEA and cancer risk in humans.

The most relevant studies on this ingredient have been selected with a summary of their contents: 

Diethanolamine (tiiips.com)

What it is used for and where it is used

It is used as a surfactant in cosmetics and a corrosion inhibitor in industrial applications.

Cosmetics

Hair conditioning agent. A large number of ingredients with specific purposes can co-exist in a hair shampoo: cleansers, conditioners, thickeners, mattifying agents, sequestering agents, fragrances, preservatives, special additives. However, the indispensable ingredients are the cleansers and conditioners as they are necessary and sufficient for hair cleansing and manageability. The others act as commercial and non-essential auxiliaries such as: appearance, fragrance, colouring, etc. Hair conditioning agents have the task of increasing shine, manageability and volume, and reducing static electricity, especially after treatments such as colouring, ironing, waving, drying and brushing. They are, in practice, dispersing agents that may contain cationic surfactants, thickeners, emollients, polymers. The typology of hair conditioners includes: intensive conditioners, instant conditioners, thickening conditioners, drying conditioners.

Surfactant - Foam booster. Its function is to introduce gas bubbles into the water for a purely aesthetic factor, which does not affect the cleaning process, but only satisfies the commercial aspect of the detergent by helping to spread the detergent on the hair. This helps in the commercial success of a shampoo formulation. Since sebum has an inhibiting action on the bubble, more foam is produced in the second shampoo.

Viscosity Enhancing Agent - aqueous. Since viscosity is important for increasing the chemical and physical stability of the product, Viscosity Enhancing Agent acqueous is an important dosage factor in gels, suspensions, emulsions, solutions. Increasing viscosity makes formulations less sedimentary and more homogeneously thickened.

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