Write shampoo or hand dish on the request. A CDEA sample is the wrong default for a DEA-free shampoo.
The specification is the market
Hand-dishwashing liquids are judged on foam under fat soil and on a thick pour. CDEA is a traditional tool for both. Shampoos are judged on mildness, clarity, and an ingredient list that many brands will not put diethanolamide on.
Esteem supplies both monoethanolamides and the diethanolamide comparison. The request has to say which market, because a technical “best foam” answer and a brand-allowed answer are not always the same grade.
Soil is the dish test
A cylinder shake in clean water flatters every amide. Dish liquids should be shaken with a grease soil. CDEA’s value is foam that stays when the soil arrives. If your test is only clean water, you will not see the difference from a cheaper booster.
Viscosity in LAS systems is not the SLES salt curve. Send the primary surfactant name.
Decision
Residual DEA and nitrosamine specifications belong on the CDEA certificate request. They are not a reason to skip assay and color.
Label the totes. A shared “amide” tank is how a DEA-free shampoo fails an audit.
| Formula | Amide to discuss | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Hand dish | CDEA if policy allows | A shampoo DEA ban applies |
| Shampoo, DEA-free | CMEA or EO-CMEA | CDEA as a drop-in |
| Sulfate-free wash | Lower amide expectation | A SLES salt curve |
| Industrial cleaner | Separate brief | A cosmetic irritancy claim |
Two hydroxyls, one foam job
Cocamide DEA is the amide of coconut fatty acid and diethanolamine. Two hydroxyethyl groups keep it liquid and help it couple into anionic systems. In a hand-dish liquid the primary cleaner is LAS or SLES. CDEA does not replace that anionic. It stabilizes the foam film once grease from the plate enters the liquor, and it helps the viscosity that shoppers read as a thick pour.
A cylinder shake in clean water hides this. Every booster looks tall for a few seconds. The dish test is foam height after a grease soil is added. If that soil is missing, a cheaper booster wins on price and the mileage complaint shows up in the sink, not in the lab beaker.
Why shampoo briefs refuse the same grade
Shampoos are judged on mildness, clarity, and an ingredient list. Many brands will not put a diethanolamide on that list, and they cap residual diethanolamine because it can form nitrosamines under the wrong conditions. Foam performance does not answer that specification. CMEA or an ethoxylated CMEA is the monoethanolamide alternative. Cocamidopropyl betaine is the amphoteric alternative. None of the three is a drop-in for the others.
CDEA is also not an emulsifier in a cream. It is a co-surfactant. A formula that needs an oil phase emulsified still needs an emulsifier system. Calling the amide an emulsifier on the label does not make the cream stable.
One plant, two markets
A site that fills both hand dish and shampoo cannot share one “amide” tank unless both specifications allow CDEA. The technical best-foam answer and the brand-allowed answer are often different grades. Write the market and the DEA policy on the request before a sample is chosen.
LAS viscosity is not the SLES salt curve. Send the primary surfactant name with the soil load. Residual DEA, assay, and color belong on the certificate even when the foam test has already passed. A shared tote labeled only “amide” is how a DEA-free shampoo fails an audit.
How to Specify with Esteem
- State hand dish, laundry, or shampoo.
- State the DEA policy in one line.
- If CDEA is allowed, give LAS or SLES level and soil load.
- If it is not allowed, ask for CMEA or EO-CMEA instead.
- Match foam under soil, not only in clean water.
Use the CMEA versus CDEA articles already on the blog, and detergent bases for the dish chassis.