Cocamide DEA, or cocamide diethanolamine, is a diethanolamide made by reacting the mixture of fatty acids from coconut oils with diethanolamine. It is a viscous liquid and is used as a foaming agent in bath products like shampoos and hand soaps, and in cosmetics as an emulsifying agent. See cocamide for the discussion of the lengths of carbon chains in the molecules in the mixture. The chemical formula of individual components is CH3(CH2)nC(=O)N(CH2CH2OH)2, where n typically ranges from 8 to 18.

Industry use

Coconut oil diethanolamine condensate belongs to the fatty acid diethanolamides extensively used in cosmetics manufacturing. Coconut DEA is commonly used as an emulsifying agent, emulsion stabilizer, surfactant, thickener, and viscosity builder for cosmetic surfactant formulas.

It’s also used as a surfactant in soap bars, light-duty detergents, and dishwashing detergents, as well as a delinting agent for cottonseed. CDEA can be added to lauryl sulfate-based liquid cleansers to help stabilize and improve foam formation.

Coconut oil diethanolamine condensate is a corrosion inhibitor in water-based, semi-synthetic, and synthetic metal-working fluids, also found in polishing agents. As an antistatic agent, it can be found in plastics, such as polyethylene film for food packaging and rigid polyvinyl chloride. In combination with metallic salts, it works as an antistatic for polystyrene and in impact-resistant rubber polystyrene blends. 

Other uses include electric plating, shoe polish, printing ink, and more.

Consumer use

Coconut DEA is an ingredient in a variety of cosmetic formulations, including shampoos, conditioners, bath oils, cooling fluids, lipsticks, soap bars, hair dyes, and various household detergents, in concentrations ranging from 1 to 25%.