-
Natural Nappy Balm?
Hi there! Nice to meet you all
I’m looking at making a few different baby care products to sell. I have a few different recipes so far and I’m looking at trying to find the most “natural” preservative for them (if they need it!). I believe my nappy balm formula is anhydrous from the research I have done so far, but I just want to make sure as I’m certainly not wanting to cause anyone any harm.
This is the recipe as it stands:
80g Shea butter (unrefined, raw, certified organic by the Soil Association)
45g Zinc oxide powder
20g Coconut oil (unrefined, certified organic by the Soil Association)
15g Bentonite clay
10ml Vitamin E oil (Natural, certified organic)
10ml Grapeseed oil (Certified organic)
Thank you so much in advance! -
104 Replies
-
Oh, I should mention that the Vitamin E being used is d-alpha-Tocopherol. Apologies!
-
Why bentonite?That one might actually be/become a problem, less for the balm but more for baby skin. Bentonite is often a paradise for microbes and it’s sometimes difficult to get rid of them. Should you heat treat it, do so with the zinc oxide too as this one might also be contaminated (less likely but since the oven is already running…). -
Hi! It seemed to be something that lots of “natural” sites like to use to dry out bad rashes. Would you happen to have an alternative at all? Should I just leave the bentonite out completely? More than happy to take advice from you guys, I’m absolutely a novice
-
Baby products are not made from ‘natural’ oils. They are made from mineral oil and thickened with microcrystalline wax. Why? They don’t cause allergies unlike all these lovely wonderful natural organic ingredients.
-
I know that many of the more famous brands use mineral oil and the like, but there are certainly lots of brands who use similar things to those that are in my formula with hundreds of great reviews. It’s definitely something that lots of parents are moving over to, so your reply really surprises me! Like I say, I don’t want to harm anyone. What kind of allergies do they cause? Do we know why? Is it a widespread problem?
-
Natural ingredients are not pure- they are composed of hundreds of different compounds that are unidentified - fragrance molecules for instance. My mother works at a childrens hospital and you would be surprised how often parents tend to dip dirty hands back into product as they are using it on their baby. Even if it’s anhydrous it’s not something you probably want unpreserved. Another note on mineral oil - it won’t go rancid like the natural oils will.
-
I fully understand. I was a student midwife at one time and that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest lol. I’ve found this Olivem1000 available, would it work as a preservative? I have seen multiple components of this listed as being used to preserve?
Olivem1000 - Potassium Olivoyl Hydrolyzed Oat Protein, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Aqua, Glyceryl Oleate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol
INCI - Cetearyl olivate, Sorbitan olivate
Is the consensus here that I should remove the bentonite clay altogether and add a preservative? -
And regarding rancidity 10% of Vitamin E? Tocopherol I assume.. it is pro-oxidant at this concentration.
Have you ever worked with grapeseed oil? It goes off in three months at a room temperature in a product. It’s iodine value is one of the highest of all vegetable oils. -
Yes, apologies, I added in a comment above that it is d-alpha-tocopherol. I haven’t worked with any of this before, so I am more than willing to learn! I’m not sure why it says pharmacist next to my name, I am absolutely not. Thank you for all of your help so far!
-
Olivem 1000 is not a preservative. No offense, but you need to gain more experience and knowledge before proceeding into baby care products. These are not harmless.
-
No problems. How would I go about gaining that experience? What isn’t harmless, a specific ingredient or the whole recipe?
-
Start with this http://makingskincare.com/knowledge-base/
Read knowledgebase of chemistcorner, then read knowledgebase of ulprospector, then analise as many commercial baby products as you can find and don’t fall after ‘natural’ and ‘organic’.
-
Ahh that’s brilliant, thank you for those links. Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean at the end there. I shouldn’t be aiming for a natural or organic product? Are they inherently unsafe then? Thank you again.
-
There is nothing wrong with a “natural” product when you use a coherent standard. “natural” has no legal definition. It is generally done under a natural 3rd Party Standard or at a minimum an internal standard. Organic does have a legal definition (USDA NOP) and your product is not “organic.”In my opinion, most demand for “natural” is guided at first by chemophobia. “Natural products are purer and safer.” “Natural is always better.”You will find that some markets (not all) will want more “natural” products. Don’t however think that a “natural” claim is the end all be all. Remember, in the markets that most Indie brands start out in, EVERYBODY claims natural. It is a requirement, not a differentiator.My comment on needing more experience was in regard to you asking is Olivem 1000 (an emulsifier) will preserve the product. Again, no offense, but it shows a gap in knowing the raw materials and their functions. That shows the need for some formalized training. Again, my opinion.
-
As a beginner, I would consider using refined shea butter and coconut oil and leave bentonite out of it. There are a lot of natural baby products out there; we here in Switzerland sell a lot from Weleda. Nice natural products, skin feel, theology, and all that sucks though…Hmmm…. it says you’re a pharmacist? Then you should know all these things!
-
Oh I understand it isn’t organic, and I wasn’t intending to market it as such. I was just trying to give everyone as much detail as possible.
I had done a fair amount of my own research into the market, but through my eyes as a consumer, not a chemist. I am likely to have succumbed to some amount of marketing about certain ingredients being “scary” and to be avoided at all costs, which is why I wanted to come here and discuss things with people who knew exactly what was and wasn’t bad for the skin.
I found that it was an emulsifier as I read into it, but the initial thought was that it may preserve somewhat as I had seen multiple ingredients in it listed as preservatives. I am likely to be wrong a fair amount of the time I expect!
I totally understand your opinion, 100%. I would love some formal training, but at this stage it may not be possible. Perhaps it would be better for me to work with an experienced chemist on formulas? -
Pharma, that’s helpful, thank you. I’m in the UK, and there are a few for sure! It’s just something I am very interested in and I would like to do my level best in order to make the best product I possibly can.
I’m not a pharmacist and I’ve not had any professional training in cosmetic formulation or anything similar. When I found I had been added to the forum last night the pharmacist tag was already there
PetalPoppet2309 said:Yes, apologies, I added in a comment above that it is d-alpha-tocopherol. I haven’t worked with any of this before, so I am more than willing to learn! I’m not sure why it says pharmacist next to my name, I am absolutely not. Thank you for all of your help so far! -
80g Shea butter (unrefined, raw, certified organic by the Soil Association)
45g Zinc oxide powder
20g Coconut oil (unrefined, certified organic by the Soil Association)
15g Bentonite clay
10ml Vitamin E oil (Natural, certified organic)
10ml Grapeseed oil (Certified organic)
Nothing wrong with your ingredients list here. You’re trying to make a diaper rash balm. As mentioned, the Bentonite Clay is not the greatest of ideas. A note … in cosmetics chemistry everything is on a weight/weight basis, so calculate your Vitamin E Oil and Grapeseed Oil in grams, not ml. And, your proportions should add up to 100% … it’s easiest if you calculate your ingredient percentages based on a 100 gram sample size.For Vitamin E Oil, 0.5% should be fine. To make this effective, you’re going to want to add an occlusive … if you want to stay all natural, use Acai Sterols as a direct replacement for the Bentonite Clay.
If you want to add a natural oil-soluble preservative glyceryl caprylate (and) glyceryl undecylenate at 0.6% would work just fine. Not absolutely necessary since your formula is anhydrous, but it’s an option if you want to add a preservative.
-
MarkBroussard said:… if you want to stay all natural, use Acai Sterols as a direct replacement for the Bentonite Clay…I like the idea of sterols in a diaper balm! Have never seen it before but seems worth a try.@PetalPoppet2309 Now the tag is gone… I was already wondering .
-
Mark, you’re a lifesaver! Thank you so much. I will work out the new formula now and find out where I can get those extra ingredients.
@Pharma, thank goodness. Thank you admins! Now I’m not making myself look stupid lol.
-
@MarkBroussard, sorry to bother you. I can’t seem to find anywhere to buy the preservative? It doesn’t seem to be available for sale under Lexgard anymore. Is there anything else I could use? I’m in the UK if that helps.
I would prefer to use a preservative so that the balm lasts longer than three months! -
I can get hold of Glyceryl Caprylate on it’s own, but I presume that wouldn’t be as effective?
-
Glyceryl caprylate alone, no.Tried makingcosmetics.com and lotioncrafter.com? Several sites in EU ship to UK.
-
Nothing on either of those, though I can definitely get açai sterols! How much more time would a preservative give the balm on average? I know that’s probably difficult to answer. Am I right that the balm would be good for about 3 months without one?
-
Try some of the European-based cosmetic ingredient re-packers.
Log in to reply.