GUIDO BOGNOLO
Scientific advisory board of H&PC Today – Household and Personal Care Today (TKS Publisher)

It would not be surprising if someone reading the title of this issue of Surfactants Alerts would wonder if it is he/she or rather the author who needs a good rest and a pause to reorganize ideas.

But if one tries to find original subjects for seriously discussing surface active phenomena in personal care the surfactants field is desperately empty.

The sulphate-free recurring topic is broadly viewed (other than by those who keep raising it) as an empty marketing gimmick, on one side void of any scientific justification and on the other technically non-achievable in economic terms. Quite frankly, it looks to me as a clumsy attempt to stir an otherwise dull and static surfactants environment that has not seen real original propositions over a long time.

Green chemistry is not innovation, it is just changing raw materials, although it has the benefit of at least raising attention on alternative manufacturing routes or raw material sources.

And what has been the fate of biosurfactants (not to be confused with bio-based surfactants) or of Gemini surfactants? Other than producing thousands ...