I manufacture and market a 100% all-natural bentonite clay-based mask that is very rich in essential oils, powdered herbs and has added zinc oxide, coconut and olive oil. I have no issues with mold (thanks to rosemary and tea tree oils) but am experiencing shrinkage in the plastic polypropylene (PP) 16 and 8 oz containers that are due to either heat or rough handling during shipping. I have several distributors and the problems are coming from Amazon fulfillment and another very large company that will not handle the products any differently than any others. Product is that shipped by me or other smaller distributors have had no issues. Is there something I can add to the formulation that will help the product retain its shape? The products are hydrated with apple cider vinegar, no water, but of course the ACV is a dilution. Thanks.
Comments
‘Very rich in essential oils’.. one of the oils is tea tree oil.. that rings a bell.
1. What are all the ingredients in the formula? (You've given a general list but specificity matters).
2. Maybe you show a picture of the product?
3. What did you find in your heat stability testing? (did you run these?)
It's a packaging issue so the easiest thing to do is to get better, air tight packaging.
As far as antimicrobial goes, unless you've done preservative efficacy testing, you won't know if the ingredients you are using are appropriately preserving the products. If you are relying on the ingredients you said, it's highly unlikely that your product is adequately preserved.
It sounds as though the product is simply packing down in the container during shipment/handling. I am assuming you are using wide-mouth jars?
Alternately, you may be getting some evaporation during storage/shipment and the issue could be the lid on the jar is not creating a tight-enough seal to prevent evaporation.
Or, it could be both of the above. Sounds like a packaging issue more than anything else.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
I am assuming the issue is that the client opens the container and thinks that it was short-filled ... they paid for 8oz of product and only got 6oz from the looks of the product in the jar, so it's more of a perception issue than it is a product performance issue.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com