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Adjusting pH of conditioner.
Hi there. I made a hibiscus deep conditioner and the final pH is quite low so I tried to increase the pH with 40% sodium hydroxide solution but the Conditioner turned green and became grainy. Why is that and how can I increase the pH? Thank you.
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13 Replies
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Whqt are the ingredients?
What was the pH before & after?
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40% sodium hydroxide is very strong. I make 10% of it and even that increases pH a lot very fast.
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Abdullah said:40% sodium hydroxide is very strong. I make 10% of it and even that increases pH a lot very fast.
Thank you I’ll try that. Also lye and sodium hydroxide is the same thing right? Cause that’s what I used
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@Nicky Even though commercial lye has some sodium hydroxide as stabilizer, they are not the same. You might have experienced some oxidative process, and that’s why you’re seeing a rapid change of color and destabilization. Use a pure solution of sodium hydroxide instead (water + sodium hydroxide), wether at 50% or more diluted. And ALWAYS read the technical information of your ingredients upfront.
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No matter how much I increase the pH the colour of the conditioner gets lighter. Can I add the sodium hydroxide solution during the water phase? I noticed the hibiscus tea doesn’t change colour like the final product.
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@ketchito Thank you
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Hi there!
May I ask what the final pH is? Also, how are you infusing the hibiscus? Posting the formula would give us a bird’s-eye view so we could further assess the situation. Did you add a chelating agent? High electrolyte content can cause oxidation when there are incompatibilities.
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lexi_dclabs said:
Hi there!
May I ask what the final pH is? Also, how are you infusing the hibiscus? Posting the formula would give us a bird’s-eye view so we could further assess the situation. Did you add a chelating agent? High electrolyte content can cause oxidation when there are incompatibilities.
Hibiscus infused water 68%
Aloe Vera juice 3%
Glycerine 3%
Hydrolysed wheat protein 3%
Avocado oil 4%
Olive oil 4%
Grapeseed oil 4%
BTMS-25 6%
Cetearyl alcohol 3%
Vitamin E oil 1%
Euxyl PE 9010 1%
Essential oil 1% -
The pH was around 3
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Hi again. For a deep conditioner, you are using too much oil. Reduce it to a total of about 3%. You will need a chelating agent due to the amount of botanicals you are using it you want to go that route. If you prefer a “natural” option, you can use sodium phytate. If not, disodium EDTA. I would advise against grapeseed oil as it known to oxidize relatively quicker than the other oils you are using.
Sodium Phytate: https://lotioncrafter.com/products/sodium-phytate?_pos=1&_sid=910248776&_ss=r
Disodium EDTA: https://lotioncrafter.com/products/disodium-edta?_pos=1&_sid=e948e3cbc&_ss=r&variant=13079590633561
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lexi_dclabs said:Hi again. For a deep conditioner, you are using too much oil. Reduce it to a total of about 3%. You will need a chelating agent due to the amount of botanicals you are using it you want to go that route. If you prefer a “natural” option, you can use sodium phytate. If not, disodium EDTA. I would advise against grapeseed oil as it known to oxidize relatively quicker than the other oils you are using.
Sodium Phytate: https://lotioncrafter.com/products/sodium-phytate?_pos=1&_sid=910248776&_ss=r
Disodium EDTA: https://lotioncrafter.com/products/disodium-edta?_pos=1&_sid=e948e3cbc&_ss=r&variant=13079590633561
Thank you for the advice.
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No problem at all. Happy formulating!
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Check out the other thread
. The colour of hibiscus changes with pH, under others green. You can’t do anything about that, no matter which alkaline substance you use to increas pH.Graininess is another thing, though…
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