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Xanthan Gum with cationic/anionic surfactants
I am trying to make a sulfate free shampoo that is “natural” (I know there is no clear definition for that) but my main issue is getting viscosity. I cannot use PEGs or any carbopol. However I can use guar gums and xanthan gum. My issue is that I have been getting mixed messages about these ingredients and how they work with cationic and anionic surfactants. To my knowledge guar gums do not work well with anionic surfactants and can cause stability issues. If anyone has any experience in this area I would like to hear their take.
Best,
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8 Replies
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Best of luck with that. Gums are interesting but in shampoo the sensorials are very poor.
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What detergent will you be using in your “natural” shampoo?
In my view, gums (as a generality) for thickening shampoos range in acceptability from poor to dreadful.
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look up natrosol. its a pretty good thickner!
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Use Lauryl Lactyl Lactate to increase viscosity.
STEPAN MILD L3.
In a system with ABC, Sarcosinate, Taurate, Cetyl Glucoside and all the other mild surfectants- you can thicken the formulation with 1-3% of the L3.
Belassi is right, the sensorial effect of the gums won’t get you anywhere.
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Or if you want a clear system, you might be interested in HEC (cellulose)
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While I was working on an “natural” APG shampoo formulation, I experimented with a whole bunch of gum and cellulose thickeners. I wasn’t very impressed with most of them, but sclerotium gum wasn’t bad. The downside is price-it’s not cheap. In the end, I abandoned “natural” in favor of super mild sulfate free synthetics that could be thickened with plain old salt.
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In addition to Sclerotium Gum, you might also try Carrageenan.
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Hi Everyone,
Thank you for your responses. I am using a wide variety of surfactants.
I have used for example the Norfox WFM Blend, and Stepan Mild LSB. these blends could not thicken with either xanthan gum or HEC.
The best blend was the one I came up with:Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Alpha Step PC-48The mixture gives good viscosity on its own but when I add my preservative it kills viscosity. (The preservative is Phenoxy and EHG).
Another thing that kills it is high oil content (1%).
@ZivBA, I am going to try Stepan Mild L3 in my formulation.
Let me know if you guys need more info or if you have any other suggestions.
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