-
Dimethicone Preservative system for Fulsarium
Hello,
I had a friend (aka “customer”) return a spray in detangler with a base of Dimethicone because there were black spots growing in her RTU product. Lab results confirmed it to be Fusarium subglutinans. I have been trying to source the mold and despite many theories, i have not yet found the obvious culprit.
It’s time to start using a preservative. So while i hope to eliminate fusarium exposure with my next round of bottles (i think the exposure may be coming from my bottle printer), I also want to identify a non toxic, baby and puppy friendly preservative. Many of in my customer base community love my mixture because they all seem to have various skin allergies and for whatever reason my spray works for them/their hair. I was hoping to approach the local co-ops this fall but this black mold has certainly set me back!
I had drank the kool aid earlier this year regarding leucudal, then popped onto this website, read a thread questioning the merits of leucidal . In the process of attempted self education i realized it may not be as highly regarded as Brian at the formulator sample shop declared 😉 I was then looking at potassium sorbate but was unable to find any evidence supportive of the idea that it would mitigate the fulsarium growth once the bottles were filled. I then popped over to a few indian freelancer cosmetic formulators who wanted to push essential oils on me as the preservative system. I am not very keen on using an EO as a preservative system.
Could anyone reccomend thoughts surrounding nontoxic, non allergic, hypoallergenic preservative options that would work well with dimethicone? Often i get the customers who have tried everything, are dealing with psoriasis or eczema issues and it’s really important that i continue to support this market as well as not introduce a neuro toxin, cancerous agent or anything else that might be viewed as dangerous!
Any recommendations would be so helpful. Likewise, once i identify a potential preservative, what is the next step? I’ve talked to a few labs and they want to charge a lot of money to run tests. as a small business primarily serving close friends and community, that level of testing is a bit beyond my pay grade. Any thoughts much appreciated.
Regards,
Jackie J.
-
11 Replies
-
Preventing fungal ex[ppsure is prob impossible as they’re (spores) ubiquitous but Fusarium and only Fusarium is odd and recalls Buasch & Lomb disaster. In local marketing Fusarium (and only Fusarium) in consumer use - not in QC. Expanded marketing without fix was disaster to company, employees and stock holders. e.g. https://levinlaw.com/practice-areas/renu-recall-bausch-lomb-eye-injuries
Leucidal was a bad decision as is “nontoxic, non allergic, hypoallergenic” - for which there is no preservative or ingredient.
Some questions - Do you see Fusarium in QC? Is this a water in silicone oil emulsion?
-
Hello,
I have run labs on the formulation and it has tested negative. The facility is also negative. I am presuming the exposure is occurring either through storage or bottle printer. This has never happened before in 50 years.
Water is mixed with the dimethicone but my understanding is that it is not oil based. We use a water based fragrance (vs oil).
Jackie
-
“Mixed” - presume dimethicone is not water soluble is it 2 phase or emusified?
Storage or bottle printer - you might put out settle plates but isn’t the product in closed packaged by these operations?
-
btw - might add the Fusarium to your challenge test
-
Emulsified. not 2 step.
How do i go about locating a challenge lab in the midwest? The lab that identified the fulsarium does not do challenge tests.
So if it’s impossible to eliminate, how do i identify a preservative system that will inhibit mold development?
-
-
-
-
-
Sorry, did I get it right? Where you making water based emulsions (with dimethicone as part of your formula), and were not using preservatives when you found the black spots? And you were giving those samoles away? ????
Well, now that you’re considering preserving, keep in mind that traditional systems work. You can even find products for very reactive skin (luke eczema) using preservstives (like La Roche and the like), so they could be a reference.
-
As I understood from “as a base of Dimethicone” the product doesn’t have water?
Anyway I wonder why people don’t attach formula when asking such kind of questions.
-
Hello
I figured it out… it is nonionic, visc-10M.
This product has been on the market 50 years and never had a problem. Now we have a problem and never having been in this position before i do not have the skills to problem solve. I only know how to follow the formula.
I do realize this is a chemist forum and i am not a chemist. I apologize i do not have the lingo and am not trained. Trust me, i have called and searched everywhere and every formulary i’ve been able to connect with has minimums to even open a discussion. I have spent over 8 weeks on this and clearly i am not effective at connecting with the right people. I was drawn to this site because in the process of attempting to educate myself, I found the thread discussing leucidal a month back which prompted me to reach out and ask for help. I had presumed that if people don’t like leucidal, there must be other “obvious” (albeit, not for me) and more appropriate alternatives for dimethicone diluted with water.
Once i have recommendations, it is much easier for me to do compatibility research against the other ingredients. I was simply asking for some initial go to suggestions. I didn’t provide a formula because my interest is not in getting into the weeds but rather, again, a specific thought on what ingredient(s) I might consider to inhibit mold growth in dimethicone.
i apologize for wasting folks time; I will look for a more appropriate venue to ask my questions.
Regards,
Jackie
-
No need to apoligize ????. I believe you’re in the right place to get advice for your particular issue. As a general rule, to give a more precise recommendation (and one that can actually help you), you need to provide more information about the formula/product and in a clear way. People usually post their formulas, some even with percentages. This help us understand what interactions are going on within your product, if the product is stable, if something might be interfering with your preservative system, etc. Without that info, it’s hard to give the right advice.
Please don’t be discouraged. You already started, and luckily you’ll find the solution within this great forum ????.
-
Hi Ketchito,
Thanks for the encouragement. Let me try again. I purchase Dimethicone (properties below) and add water to the liquid silicone in a 4:1 (formula: water) concentrate mix and 32:1 (formula:water) RTU mix.
The Dimethicone properties are as follows:
- nonionic,
- visc-10M base oil,
- 50% silicone content,
- visconsity of contained oil @ 25C 10,000 (cstks)
- dilutent waterI am looking for a preservative that would allow me to use this chemical on young children as a spray in detangler. Because many of my users are allergy sensitive and look for hypoallergenic solutions, I am sensitive to finding a mild preservative system that would not affect any sensitivities of the users.
Hopefully this clears things up?
Thanks,
jackie
-
-
-
-
“Water is mixed with the dimethicone” - dimethicone oil in water is more readily preserved to pass a challenge test and may still be at risk in consumer use. Water in dimethicone oil emulsion will often fail challenge but is typically much more robust in consumer use.
Silicone oil emulsions are classic exceptions to conventional reasoning.
Log in to reply.