Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Scaling a natural deodorant

  • Scaling a natural deodorant

    Posted by Andreas on November 3, 2023 at 4:24 pm

    Hi everyone,

    I have created a natural deodorant for personal use but would like to try and scale, to give to friends and family and sell at local farmer’s markets as a side hustle. I bought a 27L enamel wax melter for this purpose, previously I used a glass jug and melted the wax on the stovetop.

    The stovetop method worked perfectly, I was able to melt the wax and dissolve the powders very easily. I then multiplied the recipe to make 300 units (way too many I think but I wanted to test the new wax melter at its capacity). In the enamel wax melter, however, the powders don’t seem to want to dissolve. No matter how much I stir (manually) the powders sink to the bottom, where the heat source is located, and burn which leaves me with residue in the deodorant, and because the powders haven’t dissolved, the deodorant is no longer as effective.

    I am guessing there’s some kind of solubility issue that I don’t understand, I have tried Googling this but come up short, hoping someone here might be able to provide some guidance. The two recipes are provided below, in grams.

    Thanks in advance,

    Andreas

    Recipe - 1 unit:
    Shea Butter : 25g
    Tapioca Starch: 21.25g
    Coconut Oil: 12.5g
    Baking Soda: 6.25g
    Candelilla Wax: 3.75g
    Essential Oils: 0.5g

    Recipe - 300 units
    Shea Butter : 7.5 Kg
    Tapioca Starch: 6.38 Kg
    Coconut Oil: 3.75 Kg
    Baking Soda: 1.88 Kg
    Candelilla Wax: 1.13 Kg
    Essential Oils: 150g

    ketchito replied 1 year, 1 month ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • ketchito

    Member
    November 3, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    Tapioca starch and bakong soda do not dissolve in oils and waxes when melted. What happens is that in a small batch, melting and cooling take very little time, and you won’t see your powders settling, which is more evident in a larger batch. Plus, heating surface in your larger kettle might concentrate and transfer more heat from the bottom, and that could account for the burning.

  • Andreas

    Member
    November 3, 2023 at 9:07 pm

    Thanks Ketchito, much appreciated.

    Would it make a difference if the wax was cooler? I’ve looked at recipes online and also a few products on the market already that use similar ingredients, how do they manage that.. constantly stirring the solution?

    Are there any alternatives to the Tapioca and Baking Soda that do the same thing, ie fight odor and absorb perspiration?

    Thanks again!

  • ketchito

    Member
    November 5, 2023 at 10:28 pm

    What you do to prevent setting is to keep mixing till the bulk starts getting some consistency. That’s when you pour the product into molds. Tapioca can be replaced by any other starch, while bicarbonate can be replaced for example, with magnesium hydroxide.

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