The Customer’s Eye
Customers judge with their eyes.
If it foams, they think it cleans.
(Science says this isn’t true. You can clean without foam. But customers don’t believe science.)
So, we must give them foam.
Two Types of Foam
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Flash Foam (The Dish Soap Style)
Big, airy bubbles. They appear instantly when you splash water.
They break quickly.
Who does this? SLS, High-foam SLES.
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Creamy Foam (The Shampoo Style)
Tiny bubbles. Dense. Feels like lotion.
Stays on the hand for a long time.
Who does this? SLES mixed with CAB (Betaine) or CMEA.
How to Cheat the Eye
You want your product to look premium?
You need “Tight Foam.”
The Secret Ingredient: CMEA or CDE.
These are “foam boosters.”
They don’t make more foam. They make the foam stronger.
They act like a skeleton holding the bubble up.
Without CMEA, your bubbles pop in 10 seconds.
With CMEA, they last 2 minutes.
The “Oil Test”
The real test is: Does it foam when dirty?
Many cheap dish soaps foam great in clean water.
But drop one spoon of cooking oil in, and the foam dies instantly.
The Fix:
AOS is the hero here.
AOS holds foam better in oily water than SLES does.
Adding a little Amine Oxide (OA-12) also helps stabilize foam against grease.
Adjusting for the Market
Economy Dish Soap:
Focus on Flash Foam. Big bubbles fast.
Use SLS + SLES + plenty of salt.
Premium Body Wash:
Focus on Creamy Foam.
Use SLES + CAB + CMEA.
Avoid SLS (bubbles are too big and rough).
The Bottom Line
Quantity of foam is easy.
Quality of foam is where the skill is.
Use CMEA/CDE to make bubbles stronger.
Use AOS/Amine Oxide to keep bubbles alive in grease.
