Shea Butteramide/Castoramide DEA is a chemical compound, a mixture of ethanolamides of the Shea butter and Castor seed oil 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

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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