Syndet is a compound term from the English “synthetic detergents or synthetic detergents”, which roughly means “artificially produced detergent”. The term syndet is used to distinguish them from soaps (alkali salts of natural fatty acids).
Syndets contain surfactants (washing-active substances; see below) as foaming and cleaning components.
For cleaning purposes, slightly acidic syndets are preferable to soaps.
There are considerable differences in skin compatibility between the individual surfactant classes:
- Anionic surfactants with high irritation potential, such as sodium laurysulfate, as well as cationic surfactants (the polar group of cationic surfactants is usually a quaternary ammonium unit: often tetraalkylammonium salts) are considered poorly tolerated.
- More favorably evaluated are anionic surfactants of the type of fatty alcohol ether sulfonates, sulfosuccinates and ether carboxylates, and amphoteric surfactants of the type of betaines.
- Nonionic surfactants such as alkyl polyglycosides are particularly skin-compatible. The skin compatibility of a product depends on the mixture of all surfactants and additives (skin protection, anti-irritants, superfatting agents, moisturizers).
Furthermore, syndets often contain dyes and / or fragrances.
Whether syndets are actually better for the damaged skin, could not yet be scientifically proven.