Influence of botanical extracts in the texture profile of shampoo formulations

Introduction: Each day, even more consumers are concerned about hair care, once its appearance influences the self-perception and, consequently, the quality of life. Nowadays, another preoccupation is the search for cosmetic products with natural raw materials. In this context, botanical extracts have been used as a natural active ingredient in cosmetic formulations to attend the demand of the consumer. The texture profile evaluation helps to find the best formulation that will have more acceptance in the market. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of three botanical extracts on the texture profile of shampoo formulations.Methods: A shampoo formulation was developed and added or not (Vehicle –V) with Hamamelis virginiana leaf extract (F1), Camellia sinensis leaf extract (F2) and Paullinia cupana extract – Guarana extract (F3). The analysis of the texture profile was performed using a TA.XT Plus Texture Analyzer (Stable Microsystems, Surrey UK). The formulations were evaluated in terms of hardness and spreadability, and the parameters calculated were hardness, adhesiveness, cohesiveness, elasticity, gumminess, compressibility, firmness and work of shear.Results: The obtained results showed that the botanical extracts decreased the hardness, firmness, and work of shear of the shampoo formulations, it was also observed an increase of elasticity. Comparing with the vehicle, the reduction of values of hardness and work of shear are desirable parameters, such as the increase of benefits of elasticity, once they are related to the formulation spreadability and softness. When comparing the botanical extracts, the Paullinia cupana extract promoted a decrease in the adhesiveness, while Camellia sinensis and Hamamelis virginiana increased this parameter. It was also observed smaller values of hardness and high elasticity, even though the firmness and work of shear did not present significant differences among them.Conclusion: In conclusion, even with the decrease of the firmness, the formulations with the extracts showed a good performance in other parameters, such as hardness, elasticity, and work of shear. Therefore, the formulation with guarana extract can be considered the best formulation due to the smaller values of hardness, and higher values of adhesiveness and elasticity.