A personal care composition comprising a cationically modified cellulose ether, wherein the cellulose ether comprises from 0.5 to 4 moles of an ether substituent per mole of anhydroglucose repeat unit and the cellulose ether further substituted with a cationic substituent of the formula (I) wherein R1, R2 and R3 each independently are CH3 or C2H5, R4 is CH2—CHOH—CH2 or CH2CH2, Az− is an anion, and z is 1, 2 or 3, and the cellulose ether comprises from 1.15 to 1.44 percent of cationic nitrogen, based on the total weight of the cellulose ether. The cationically modified cellulose ethers which comprise from 6,000 to 15,000 anhydroglucose repeat units are novel.