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Allergic reaction
We have two face emulsions with exactly the same ingredients. The only difference is that the first is a viscous cream, the 2nd a thin lotion - lotion has 15% less of the same oils, more water and half emulsifier. A woman has allergic reaction with the lotion but not with the cream. Any idea why this happens? Products prepared in the same week with the same batches of raw materials.
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10 Replies
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Has it been determined if it is an allergy or inflammation? An true allergy is an IG modulated reaction and less common than many believe. Inflammation is a prostagladin modulated reaction and it occurs after chemical or enviromental insult. In many cases it is classified as a contact dermatitis. For the most dramatic presentation think poison ivy.
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Thanks Microformulation for your response. I was present and there was not any obvious signs like redness or itch, only intense stinging and numbness of tongue in a generally not allergic woman. Call it inflamation, any idea about the cause? It’s hard to think that I made something wrong when prepared the lotion.
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Numbness of the tongue would actually be more properly the signs of an allergy. A full blown allergy would present as anaphylaxis. Which did she try first? It is possible that she experienced increased allergic response from subsequent challenges of the same allergen.
The reason I am usually skeptical when someone says allergy is that it is much rarer, although possible from application of a topical product.
In the end, she should see an allergist who would try to identify the offending allergen. It is likely that she could be exposed to the allergen from other sources.
An interesting aside that was brought up at a conference last year. Natural extracts (with a spread of many albeit similar alkaloids) actually present more potential for allergic challenge than a traditional product where the active components have been isolated and refined.
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Thanks, Micro. She had tried the cream a few days before and everything was o.k. Yesterday she tried the lotion and had the reaction. And also today we checked it again. I will re-formulate a batch.
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If it is a true allergy you could be tempting fate re-challenging her. Save a sample and have her see an allergist. Patch testing could diagnose the issue. It would be an interesting test study. We rarely see true allergies in Cosmetics, juts people misusing this diagnosis.
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Almond oil / shea butter / kpnangan butter etc etc in the formula?
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Yes, the Formula would be helpful. As @Belassi points out there are some common offenders. Does the client have any other allergies, such as latex perhaps or nut allergies?
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I found that the lotion has a different old batch of carbomer than the cream. Is it to blame? - can’t believe it (I remember it didn’t hydrated very well). Lotion is a simple formula with 5% oils (1% shea), less than 0.5% orange oil+fragrance, pe9010… wait! oh yes! now I see in my paper that lotion has euxyl k700, not pe9010 that has the cream! Sorry! So it’s potassium sorbate to blame I think… Maybe it was not an allergy but rather stinging/burning from pot. sorbate…
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I am a huge fan of Phenoxyethanol and use the heck out of it. However, it can have some stinging and irritation. Some clients may experience irritation, especially in facial products. When we used it as a standalone, that is when it often got a bad rap. That could be the issue.
If it is an allergy, the Shea could the offender, especially if the client has an existing latex allergy. It is rare, but as an allergist said at a conference 3 years ago, sometimes the allergic profile lines up and the client can present with a co-allergy. Shea contains some “latex like” compounds.
Lastly I have heard of similar issues with orange il, especially topically. Do some research in this area.
As for the Carbomer, I think that would have presented as an issue in the feel and sensient characteristics of the product. What did you neutralize it with? What was the final pH. I hope you are using a meter in this case.
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I believe that was k700 the cause of the reaction. PE9010 never gave any reaction to all my customers so far. Ultrez 10 neutralized with NaOH to final pH 5.3 - 5.5. I will re-formulate the lotion with PE9010 (I used k700, thinking that is more water soluble, so fits better with the thin lotion). Lotion is at the development stage not in market.
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