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Identifying content abd percentages of a mix.
If there a place you can send a sample of a formula and them be able to tell you percentages of the Ingredients present?
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3 Replies
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depends what the ingredient is - if it’s something chemically distinct and well-defined, like cocamide MEA or cetyl alcohol, it can be quantified by an analytical lab using HPLC or a similar method
if the ingredient is a fragrance, essential oil, vegetable oil, or unrefined organic material of some other kind (e.g. colloidal oatmeal), it is not chemically well-defined or distinct, because these ingredients generally comprise a non-unique mixture of substances, and so it’ll be much harder to identify and quantify
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Also, it will be extremely expensive to have anything near to a complete analysis - not a thing to undertake lightly. The result will most likely not be of much use to you either - couched in IUPAC names rather than the materials we all know (and love????)
An experienced formulation chemist will be able to come up with a reasonable imitation of most cosmetic products without a scientific analysis. (I emphasise experienced.)
Before my retirement, I spent many years as a senior (chief) chemist in a French perfumery house. I can tell you that despite having all manner of HPLC, GC, mass spectrometry, NMR and other equipment the final analysis a perfume compound, possibly containing hundreds of components, was always in the hands (or nose) of an experienced perfumer. It is much the same now.
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Thanks so much for the information! I really appreciate it!
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