Patent ID: 8440605

Claim:
A process for making a liquid cleaning composition comprising combining an aqueous phase comprising water and at least one other component and a surfactant-containing lamellar phase, where such combining would ordinarily form a highly viscous mesophase having a viscosity of at least 100 Pa-s, the process avoiding said mesophase by: a) providing the aqueous phase comprising water and at least one other component selected from anionic surfactants, amphoteric surfactants, zwitterionic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, conditioning polymers, deposition polymers, and thickening polymers; b) providing the surfactant-containing lamellar phase wherein the lamellar phase comprises from about 50% to 80% active surfactant(s); and c) combining the aqueous phase with the lamellar phase in a high shear device at a flow ratio of the aqueous phase to lamellar phase of from 1 to 3 of the Minimum Flow Ratio, wherein the Minimum Flow Ratio is the lowest ratio of aqueous phase to lamellar phase that maintains the viscosity of the resulting composition at less than 100 Pa-s at a shear rate of 1/sec; wherein the lamellar phase is eliminated via dissolution into the aqueous phase such that a liquid cleaning composition results; and wherein the liquid cleaning composition has a viscosity of less than 100 Pa-s at a shear rate of 1/sec.