Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Hair Wax Pomade Formula - Doesn’t Thicken Up

  • Wax Pomade Formula - Doesn’t Thicken Up

    Posted by AdmiralRedBeard on July 21, 2016 at 10:12 pm

    I am trying to formulate a hair wax pomade product and I cannot get it to thicken up and I don’t know what I am doing wrong. Here is my formula:
    82.1%    Water (Distilled)
      4.5%    Hydrogenated Olea europaea (Olive Oil)
      4.0%    Maltodextrin / VP copolymer
      3.3%    Glyceryl Stearate AND PEG-100 Stearate
      2.0%    Caprylic Capric Triglycerides
      2.0%    Cetearyl Alcohol
      1.5%    Gluconolactone AND Sodium Benzoate
        .3%    DL-Panthenol
        .3%    Fragrance Oil

    This is the original formula that I was trying to mimic:

    82.6%   Water
      4.5%    Beeswax
      4.0%    Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate
      3.0%    Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Methacrylate
      2.0%    Caprylic Capric Triglycerides
      2.0%    Cetearyl Alcohol
      1.0%    Paraben-DU
      0.3%    Triethanolamine     
      0.3%    D-panthenol
      0.3%    Fragrance

    I am substituting the following ingredients:
    Hydrogenated Olive Oil in place of the beeswax
    Maltodextrin / VP copolymer in place of the Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Methacrylate
    Gluconolactone AND Sodium Benzoate in place of the Paraben-DU

    I eliminated the Triethanolamine since the Maltodextrin / VP copolymer does not need to be neutralized.

    The original formula has a picture that shows a nice thick product. My version is very liquid-y and not one bit solid. What am I doing wrong?

    Bobzchemist replied 8 years, 4 months ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • Bill_Toge

    Member
    July 21, 2016 at 11:11 pm

    a bit of googling shows that “Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Methacrylate Copolymer” is a thickener from BASF, and “Maltodextrin / VP Copolymer” is a styling polymer from Akzo Nobel

    your product is thin because the latter is not a thickener, and there’s not enough oil phase or emulsifiers for the product to have any substantial viscosity on its own

  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    July 22, 2016 at 4:57 pm

    Substituting one ingredient for another in a formula without a good understanding of what each of them does is a recipe for failure, and sure enough, your formula failed.

    Your original formula had 2 emulsifying systems: Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate and Beeswax/Triethanolamine. You took one out completely, and reduced the amount of the second one without reducing the oil being emulsified.

    Why would you expect the end result to be the same?

  • AdmiralRedBeard

    Member
    July 23, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    Thank you Bill and Bob for your comments.

    I am very new at cosmetic chemistry and I would be the first one to admit that. I thought that polymers performed one function and didn’t realize the difference between products. I only omitted the Triethanolamine because I had inadvertently mistook it as Triethylamine which is typically used as a neutralizer. I didn’t look any further to see that Triethanolamine was an emulsifier.

    I guess we all learn from our mistakes. I knew that there would be the chance that my actions would end in failure and that is fine.

    I have increased the hydrogenated Olea europaea (Olive Oil) to 20%, the Glyceryl Stearate & PEG-100 Stearate to 5% and the Maltodextrin / VP copolymer to 25%. I now have a paste-like product that has a very strong hold. I am thinking about modifying the hydrogenated Olea europaea (Olive Oil) to either a lesser amount and/or a blend of the wax and a butter. I may also try different quantities of the Maltodextrin / VP copolymer to see what I can come up with. While I like the strong hold of the product, I am hoping for something that is a little easier to apply. 

    Thank you again for your comments on my post.

  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    July 24, 2016 at 6:37 pm

    Ummm…the TEA is a neutralizer, not an emulsifier. TEA-neutralized beeswax, however, is an emulsifier, but unreacted beeswax is not. See Beeswax/Borax.

    If you approach them with the right attitude, your mistakes can teach you as much or more than your successes can. 

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