A foaming agent in personal care is usually a co-surfactant. It densifies lather and lifts viscosity on an anionic or mild base. Esteem’s personal care foaming agents table is eight INCI grades. Specify amide vs nonionic vs betaine vs amine oxide—not “send foam.”
Foam Is Not One Additive
Shampoos, bubble baths, and shower gels get flash foam from the primary detergent. Creamy, stable foam and a pumpable viscosity usually come from a second surfactant. Esteem lists amides, ethoxylated amides, glyceryl cocoate nonionics, coco betaine, and lauryl amine oxide. Oilfield foaming agents are a different page and a different job.
Esteem Grades by Foam Job
| Grade (as listed) | Role | When to start here |
|---|---|---|
| Coco Monoethanol amide | Foam booster + viscosity; low irritancy | Classic SLES shampoo, flake amide OK |
| Lauric Monoethanol amide | Dense, stable foam + viscosity | Need creamier lather than coco MEA |
| Coco MEA-3EO/5EO | Liquid CMEA alternative | Cold process; no flake melt |
| PEG-3 Glyceryl Cocoate | Foam + viscosity with alkyl sulfates | Sulfate chassis that must stay dense |
| PEG-30 / PEG-80 Glyceryl Cocoate | Mild, water-soluble nonionic | Sensitive-skin wash; low irritancy |
| Coco Betaine (35) | Foam, viscosity, hard-water, mildness | Default co-surfactant next to anionics |
| Lauryl Amine oxide (30) | Foam + viscosity, wide pH | pH-flexible gels; amine-oxide brief |
Match the Foam Job to the Grade
| Job on the brief | Start with (as listed) | Do not use as the only answer |
|---|---|---|
| Classic SLES shampoo, flake amide OK | Coco Monoethanol amide or Lauric Monoethanol amide | PEG-80 glyceryl cocoate as the salt-curve builder |
| Cold process; no flake melt | Coco Monoethanol amide-3EO/5Eo | Assuming liquid EO amide matches flake CMEA 1:1 |
| Dense foam + body on alkyl sulfate | PEG-3-Glyceryl Cocoate with the sulfate | PEG-30/80 as a stronger foam booster |
| Sensitive-skin wash, low irritancy | PEG-30 or PEG-80 Glyceryl Cocoate, often with coco betaine | Loading extra CMEA to “make it milder” |
| Default co-surfactant; hard water | Coco Betaine (35) | Using betaine as the primary detergent |
| Wide-pH gel; amine-oxide brief | Lauryl Amine oxide (30) | Substituting CMEA without a pH screen |
CMEA, LMEA, and Liquid Ethoxylated CMEA
Coco Monoethanol amide is listed as a foam booster and viscosity builder in shampoos, with low skin irritancy, for shampoos, bubble baths, shower gels, cleansing formulas, hair, and skin care. Lauric Monoethanol amide is listed for stable, dense foam and for viscosity building in shampoos and soaps. Lauric is the denser-lather row when coco MEA feels too open or too “flash.” Neither amide is the primary detergent. They pack around an anionic (typically an alkyl sulfate or a mild sulfosuccinate base) and lift both creaminess and salt-curve viscosity.
Coco Monoethanol amide-3EO/5Eo is listed as a liquid alternative to regular CMEA for the same foam-booster and viscosity-builder job in soaps and shampoos. Use it when the plant cannot melt a flake, or when a cold-process sulfate-free chassis must stay homogeneous. Do not assume 3EO equals 5EO, and do not assume either liquid cut matches flake CMEA on a 1:1 active basis. Re-run foam flash, foam drain, and 25 °C viscosity after salt.
Amide family chemistry, DEA policy, and CAPB vs amide already live in CMEA vs CDEA vs CAPB and alkanolamides. This page only assigns the foaming-agents table rows. Cream viscosity from Steareth/Ceteth is a different job—see viscosity builders for creams and shampoos.
PEG-3 vs PEG-30 vs PEG-80 Glyceryl Cocoate
PEG-3-Glyceryl Cocoate is listed for use in combination with alkyl sulphates to form highly stable, dense foams and to build excellent viscosities. That is a sulfate-chassis helper, not a sensitive-skin mildness claim. Start here when SLES or another alkyl sulfate must hang on the hand and keep a creamy bubble.
PEG-30-Glyceryl Cocoate and PEG-80-Glyceryl Cocoate are listed as low-irritant, mild, water-soluble nonionics for sensitive-skin formulas and other personal care. Higher EO is more water-soluble and milder; it is not a stronger foam booster. If you replace PEG-3 with PEG-80 on a sulfate shampoo, expect less salt-curve help and a different rinse feel. Trial PEG-30 vs PEG-80 when the brief is baby or sensitive wash; keep PEG-3 on the alkyl-sulfate dense-foam brief.
Coco Betaine (35) vs Lauryl Amine Oxide (30)
Coco Betaine (35) is listed as an excellent viscosity-building and foam-boosting agent, widely used in personal care. It reduces irritation when formulated with other anionic surfactants and has good hard-water tolerance. That is the default co-surfactant next to SLES, sulfosuccinate, or a mixed anionic. It is still not the primary detergent—pair it with a named base from the mild detergent bases guide when SLES is off-brief.
Lauryl Amine oxide (30) is listed as a foam booster that builds excellent viscosities over a wide pH range. Use it when the chassis is not locked near pH 5–6, or when the brief explicitly calls an amine oxide. Amine oxides can shift between nonionic and cationic character with pH; that is why the table stresses a wide pH window. Do not drop amine oxide into an anionic shampoo and skip a compatibility check with perfume, dye, and any cationic conditioner.
Shampoo chassis design (primary surfactant, foam, mildness) is in the shampoo formulation guide. Sulfate-free salt curves differ—use the sulfate-free body wash guide, then trial CMEA-EO or coco betaine from this table, not a random industrial foam booster.
Process, Salt, and What These Grades Are Not
Build foam quality first, then viscosity. If you salt-thicken before the co-surfactant is chosen, you will chase a curve that the amide or betaine cannot hold. Flake CMEA needs a melt or a hot water-phase addition; liquid CMEA-EO and betaine/amine oxide slurries usually go in cold or warm. Record active %: coco betaine is listed at 35% and lauryl amine oxide at 30%—do not dose them as 100% solids.
Pearl look is not foam. If the brief is opaque shampoo, see pearlizing agents. Oilfield foaming agents are a different page and a different job. These eight personal-care rows do not replace SLES as the workhorse detergent.
A short lab screen that matches the table: (1) pick primary surfactant and pH first; (2) add coco betaine (35) if you need irritation reduction and hard-water foam; (3) add flake CMEA or LMEA if you can melt and need creamier lather; (4) use CMEA-3EO/5EO when the process is cold; (5) use PEG-3 glyceryl cocoate only on alkyl sulfate when dense foam and salt-curve body are the goal; (6) use PEG-30/80 glyceryl cocoate when the claim is sensitive skin; (7) use lauryl amine oxide (30) when pH is wide. Record foam height, drain, and 25 °C viscosity after each add—not after stacking all eight grades in one beaker.
Do not stack CMEA, PEG-3 glyceryl cocoate, and amine oxide “for more foam” without a reason. Each row changes salt curve, cloud point, or cationic compatibility. Sensitive-skin briefs should start on PEG-30/80 and coco betaine, then add amide only if lather is still thin. Sulfate shampoos that must hang on the hand should start on CMEA or PEG-3 with the alkyl sulfate, then betaine for mildness. Keep industrial foamers off this screen.
How to Specify with Esteem
- Name primary surfactant, pH, and whether you can handle a solid amide.
- State sensitive-skin yes/no and hard-water yes/no.
- Trial CMEA vs CMEA-EO vs coco betaine as separate jobs from the foaming agents table.
- Build viscosity after foam, or you will chase salt on a poorly chosen co-surfactant. Related: viscosity builders.
Contact Esteem for samples, or custom synthesis for a non-catalogue EO or amide window.