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Water quality for cold process formulations
Is it advisable to boil and cool distilled water before using it in cold-process formulations such as serums and toners? Or is it safe to rely on the quality of distilled water that I purchase from the supermarket and use it directly in the formulation? I am based in the US.
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14 Replies
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well, it depends I guess if you use some conservation in your Formulation then I would say normally it should not be a Problem to use Destilated water from the supermarket if you check that the conservation is sufficient.
If you don’t use any Conservation it is in my opinion not adviasable. I would at least cook it and then I would not use the Mixture for very long. Most ingredients have a small Concentration of microorganisms especially if you use plant-based materials or anything. Maximum 2 to 3 days in the Refrigerator, not much more because there is a risk of bacteria development.
hope that helps
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Folk should be confident their water meets at least finished product specification. The worst contaminants P. aeruginosa and B. cepacia can grow in distilled water to millions per ml - more than enough to overwhelm any preservative - esp. the alternative/naturals
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I am pretty sure that even bottled distilled water has an expiration date on it, no? If so, I think the recommendation is to boil it beforehand, even though it’s not fun and seems unnecessary, and this is probably a bit more important with cold process than hot process.
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Generally, no, boiling distilled water is not necessary prior to making a cold process formula. Your preservation system should be robust enough to resolve any issues.
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You can’t expect the preservative to resolve a contaminated raw material - esp. water. Water quality is probably the biggest risk for cosmetic manufacturing.
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What improvement do you believe boiling the water will deliver? If you read about sterilization, you must have pressure and heat. Use validated water and use a robust preservative system. You aren’t performing sterile manufacturing. If you ever worked in a clean room or a laminar flow hood, you would see that it is fruitless to attempt sterility. Be sanitary.
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The manufacturing of water sold in supermarkets is highly regulated and the water undergoes extensive testing. The likelihood that you will encounter a contaminated container of distilled water on the supermarket shelves is extremely low.
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If you have any qualms about it, you would be much better off opening your container of distilled water and add some sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate to it and perhaps a chelator before you use it as the base for a formulation. That would be much more effective, and less time consuming, than boiling it.
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MarkBroussard said:The manufacturing of water sold in supermarkets is highly regulated and the water undergoes extensive testing. The likelihood that you will encounter a contaminated container of distilled water on the supermarket shelves is extremely low.A common perception. But not in our experience. We test this water in our microbial lab, and occasionally we detect contaminated batches. Returned two bottles just the other week.Some years ago I was asked to do a consultancy for one of the largest bottled water suppliers in Australia. My initial evaluation revealed inadequately qualified and trained QC and laboratory staff, and vastly inadequate lab equipment and water testing protocols. This experience shattered my assumptions about the bottled water industry. -
Not aware it is highly regulated, esp for micro (tho’ regulatory language always excessive). Think just colifom/E. coli. - https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=165.110
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mikethair said:MarkBroussard said:The manufacturing of water sold in supermarkets is highly regulated and the water undergoes extensive testing. The likelihood that you will encounter a contaminated container of distilled water on the supermarket shelves is extremely low.A common perception. But not in our experience. We test this water in our microbial lab, and occasionally we detect contaminated batches. Returned two bottles just the other week.Some years ago I was asked to do a consultancy for one of the largest bottled water suppliers in Australia. My initial evaluation revealed inadequately qualified and trained QC and laboratory staff, and vastly inadequate lab equipment and water testing protocols. This experience shattered my assumptions about the bottled water industry.
I have a small home-based lab. Can you recommend an affordable testing kit for water? Thanks in advance.
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Do a test: Purchase some USP Purified Water and some Distilled Water. Take a formula and make one sample in USP Purified Water and one sample in Distilled Water … send each in for a Preservative Challenge Test.
If your preservation system is properly designed, you will not notice a significant difference, if any at all, in the PCT test results between the USP and the Distilled waters.
FYI: USP Purified Water costs 10X Distilled Water.
You cannot make a valid indictment of an entire industry based on a bad experience with just one company. Perhaps this one company simply was not a good operator, but it does not mean that all companies in that industry operate in the same manner.
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oneway said:mikethair said:MarkBroussard said:The manufacturing of water sold in supermarkets is highly regulated and the water undergoes extensive testing. The likelihood that you will encounter a contaminated container of distilled water on the supermarket shelves is extremely low.A common perception. But not in our experience. We test this water in our microbial lab, and occasionally we detect contaminated batches. Returned two bottles just the other week.Some years ago I was asked to do a consultancy for one of the largest bottled water suppliers in Australia. My initial evaluation revealed inadequately qualified and trained QC and laboratory staff, and vastly inadequate lab equipment and water testing protocols. This experience shattered my assumptions about the bottled water industry.
I have a small home-based lab. Can you recommend an affordable testing kit for water? Thanks in advance.
Hi @oneway
In our labs we use the following across in-process testing and in our lab.:Ohaus Starter 3100 pH meter.PC 60 pH/cond/TDS/Sal.Tuttnauer autoclavemikrocount combi dipslides -
Thank you all for your contribution and your insight. I truly appreciate it.
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