A substantially boron-free method for making a cationic guar comprising: reacting particles of polysaccharide with a derivatizing agent to produce derivatized polysaccharide particles, washing the particles, and contacting, prior to or after the step of washing, the particles with a crosslinking agent compound. Also disclosed are methods for making crosslinked derivatized polysaccharides that include contacting particles of a polysaccharide with a first crosslinking agent and/or second cross-linking agent in an aqueous medium under conditions appropriate to intra-particulately crosslink the particles. The first and/or second crosslinking agent can include a copper compound, a magnesium compound, a calcium compound, an aluminum compound, p-benzoquinone, glyoxal, a titanium compound, a dicarboxylic acid, a dicarboxylic acid salt, a phosphite compound or a phosphate compound. The crosslinked polysaccharide of the present invention is especially useful in personal care formulations, especially formulations comprising silicone since it improves silicone deposition.
