Ethanolamine is a colorless, viscous liquid with a mild, ammonia-like odor, which is miscible with water, alcohols and many organic solvents. It is a versatile organic chemical that serves as a key raw material and functional additive across multiple industries, especially in personal care, detergents, textiles, gas purification and chemical synthesis, with its core efficacy derived from its alkaline properties and reactivity.

In the personal care and cosmetics industry, ethanolamine is widely used in hair care products, particularly perm lotions, hair relaxers and hair dyes. As a mild alkaline regulator, it creates the optimal alkaline environment (typically pH 9 to 10.5) for perming reactions. It helps open the hair cuticle gently, allowing reducing agents such as ammonium thioglycolate to penetrate the hair shaft efficiently, which breaks the disulfide bonds in hair keratin smoothly. Compared with traditional ammonia, ethanolamine is much milder, which reduces scalp irritation and unpleasant odor, making it a preferred ingredient for ammonia-free or low-odor perm formulations. It also acts as an emulsifier and pH adjuster in skin care products and cleansers, helping to stabilize formulations, neutralize acidic components and enhance the mildness of products.

In the detergent and cleaning products sector, ethanolamine is used as a neutralizer for fatty acids to produce mild surfactants, which are applied in liquid soaps, dishwashing liquids and laundry detergents. These surfactants have excellent cleaning and emulsifying properties, and are gentle to the skin and fabrics. It also helps to adjust the pH of cleaning products, improve their solubility and enhance their ability to remove oil and stains.

In the textile industry, ethanolamine is used as a softener, emulsifier and dyeing assistant. It can improve the softness and smoothness of fabrics, enhance the affinity between dyes and fibers, and improve the uniformity and fastness of dyeing. It is also applied in the finishing process of wool and synthetic fibers to reduce static electricity and make fabrics more comfortable to wear.

In the gas purification field, ethanolamine is a common absorbent for acid gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. It reacts with these acid gases to form stable compounds, which can effectively remove them from natural gas, refinery gas and other industrial gases, ensuring the purity and quality of the gases.