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Why did my sulfate free shampoo Separate into two phases??
Hello, please I have a problem and need help: I made a shampoo sulfate free but it separate in two phases: the higher phase is opaque and cloudy and the phase in the bottom is transparent, why this could happen?
This is the formula:
aqua
dissodium laureth sulfosuccinate
cocoglucoside
cocobetaine
pq7
menthol solublized in alcohol
EOs of tea tree and rosemary
glycerin
zinc sulfate
optiphen bd
citric acid
Please can someone tell me what can be the problem and how to solve it?
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4 Replies
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It seems that your gel phase (rich in surfactants) separated from your water, or at least from part of your water. Could you try one sample without zinc sulfate? Some systems are too sensitive to electrolytes.
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Thank you for your response. I don’t think that the zinc sulfate is the problem, because I did the same formula without it (and replace it with salicylic acid too) and get the same problem: the shampoo is always not homogeneous.
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If you added Sodium salycilate (instead of Salycilic acid, which is harder to incorporate), then you’d still be adding electrolytes. Try one sample without either Zinc sulfate or Salycilic. You could actually make only the backbone (surfactants only) to see if there’s an issue with them, or even better, a knockout test.
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Try using a different emulsifying agent, such as polysorbate 20 or cetyl alcohol, to improve the stability of the emulsion. The pH of the shampoo may be affecting the stability of the emulsion. Try adjusting the pH to a range of 5.5 to 6.5, which is the ideal pH for shampoos. If the problem cannot be solved through simple adjustments, you may need to reformulate the shampoo by changing the ingredients or their proportions.
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