For all of you chemists and comsmetologists...

Can any of you tell me what exactly is Quaternium 27? What is it's purpose in a conditioner?

I recently got a shea butter conditioner from Mode de Vie which has water, quaternium 27, shea butter, rosemary essential oil,tropical tree extract, cypress essential oil.

It worked great, it's largely natural and gave my hair strands the slipperyness to not tangle after dry, yet usually only silicones do that for me, and they can give damage...so what is this mysterious chemical? Do you think it will cause damage or buildup like cones can? Telling me it's chemical formula is always appreciated!

Thanks! Do you know what it's made of? Like, does it have silicone in it, or do you think it is good for hair? My curiosity comes from how weird it feels when I put it on my hair. Usually, when conditioner is on your hair, it feels really slippery, this stuff feels strangely squeaky (until I rinse it out), and I'm wondering if it's good for my hair.

Wow, that's a big honkin' chemical! So I guess if it's a "sulfates" it's maybe not the best, but it seems impossible to find anything that gives good "hair slip" without either silicones, sulfates or something, so I will include this product in my rotation and just not use it every wash. Thanks!