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Magnesium/MSM Cream - Preservatives & pH?
Hey everybody. I’m working on this thing that’s completely gotten away with itself and I was hoping that someone might be able to look over what I’m doing and give me some pointers. I’ve done an enormous amount of research and the ingredient list has gotten quite large, so I apologize.INCI: Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Aqua, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, Vitus vinifera seed oil, Magnesium Chloride, Zinc Oxide, MethylSulfonylMethane, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Nymphaea caerulea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Avena Sativa kernel flour, Bambusa Arundinacea stem powder, Persea Gratissima Oil, Cannabis Sativa seed Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides berry Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Thocopherol, CholecalciferolWax:
2 Tbsp - Sal Butter
2 tsp - White Lotus Floral Wax
1 1/2 tsp - Jojoba Oil
3/4 tsp - Avocado Oil
1/2 tsp - Hemp Seed Oil
1 Tbsp - Non-Nano Zinc OxideWater:
2 Tbsp - Purified Water
1 Tbsp - Magnesium Chloride
1 Tbsp - OptiMSM
1 tsp - Colloidal OatBase:
4 Tbsp - Cupuacu Butter
3 Tbsp - Unfiltered Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tbsp - Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tsp - Vitamin E Oil (T-50)
1/2 tsp - Vitamin D3 Oil (in Olive Oil)
1/4 tsp - Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate)
1/4 tsp - Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil
1 tsp - Aloe Vera Juice Powder1 tsp - Bamboo Extract Powder- Wax and Sal butter (which is much like cocoa butter) is melted, then other ingredients added.- Water heated, minerals added to dissolved, add to wax in blender, add oat, blend till smooth.- All butter ingredients (Cupuacu is much like Shea) go into a standing mixer, mixed till incorporated, emulsion added slowly and mixed on medium speed so butter doesn’t get grainy.Here’s my question:I know that OptiMSM can be used as a preservative. It sounded to me like 10% is the minimum for this purpose (and ideally higher?). The current recipe has it at 5%. It sounded like this is not sufficient… it’s being used in cultures, but my question is this: is it used in cultures because it discourages other microbes/ect so that the viruses they’re growing (flu?) have a better chance at growing? Hence still having some microbial action?As for the water portion of the emulsion, it comprises a much less significant quantity (about 10%)… and thus, by using some hurdle technology (low water content, other perishables suspended in the oil portion of the emulsion, additional salts via magnesium chloride) would maybe be sufficient preservative to keep for at minimum six months in less than ideal conditions (left in a car, kept on one’s person in the heat, ect)?The first batch of this I made did not include the oat, but had the aloe in the water portion. It has not grown mold as to yet. As a test, I left them empty container (which obviously has a thin coating of the cream) in my car. I made it about a month ago, and there hasn’t been any signs of spoilage (but I not regret that experiment… it’s a 4oz canning jar, so airtight).
I had also used magnesium sulfate for the magnesium component - I understand that both MSM and Magnesium Sulfate contain a sulfur component that acts to preserve the water portion.I was also looking at adding a probiotic and was wondering if that would boost it’s “shelf-life”, or if it would be a better choice to add something like AMTicide, thin it out (with liquid oil), and throw it in a pump bottle?I don’t really want to add more water to increase the MSM content and not sure that it and the magnesium will totally dissolve and not separate out when added to the oil (and turn grainy) if I push the quantities too high.I am considering adding Tumeric EO (Co2 extraction) to the mix but I’d like to keep it to 1% to avoid irritation since I formulated this for use with Psoriasis, which tends to sting like the dickens.Furthermore: how the heck do I even test something thick for PH? Could a fruit juice powder or freeze dried fruit powder effectively lower the PH without having to add pure citric acid/ect, or perhaps an Orange EO? And does it matter that much in a topical (I do understand the acid mantle is a thing)?Sorry for the novel. At least it’s thorough?Thank you so much for any help you can offer!
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