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Ascorbic Acid In Shampoo
Hello All
i have ave an all natural shampoo that I created and it turns white ones completed but days later it turns yellow. I believe it is the citric acid which I use to bring the ph down and truly helps the shampoo to be a detangling shampoo. What can I do to have a white shampoo??? The ingredients are below:
water
decyl glucoside
aloe vera juice
coconut oil
dl panthenol
citric acid
jojoba oil
castor oil
Xanthan gum
optiphen
essential oil -
16 Replies
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Why do you double-post?
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The initial white color is from the oils in your formula being partially solubilized, but not completely. I’m assuming you’re mixing the oils in the Decyl Glucoside and then adding that mixture to the water phase?
Perhaps the Decyl Glucoside alone is sufficient to solubilize the oils into the water phase and it is taking a few days for complete solubilization which is why it is turning yellow over time.
I’d suspect that if you left it sitting long enough that the oils may separate out into a separate layer? … it’s all a function of how much oil you are adding and how much Decyl Glucoside you are using in the formula.
If you want it to stay white in color, your best bet would be to add a pearlizing agent.
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I actually mix the xanthan and guar to liquids let sit until they become gelatinous then add mixture to decyl (17%). Then add oils (7.5%), glycerin (5%), vitamin c and optiphen
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@pharma I double posted because I am new and did not realize my post may be in the wrong area.
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A couple of recommendations:
(1) Mix Xanthan and Guar in Glycerin to form a slurry.
(2) Add Oils to Decyl Glucoside mixing well to make homogeneous
(3) Add Decyl/Oils mixture to stirring water
(4) Drizzle Glycerin/Xanthn/Guar slurry into stirring Step3 mixture
(5) Adjust pH with Citric Acid. Add Optiphen to stirring Step4 mixture
I doubt seriously that 17% Decyl Glucoside is going to solubilize 7.5% total oils … if you give it enough time, this mixture should separate.
Curious, when it turns yellow … is it a translucent yellow or a turbid yellow?
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I’d say a turbid yellow. And when I shake it it gets a little lighter but when sitting will turn back.
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Should I increase decyl and reduce water?
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And does the oil separate out over time?
If you want to stick with a cold-process, then try adding a solubilizer … Poly Suga Mulse D9 to help solubilize the oils. This might help make it more clear.
If you want it to be white, but it would be a hot-process, add some Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate and a pearlizer.
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Ok I usually beat half the water and add xanthan to that and it congrats nicely so should I perhaps add the pearlizer to the hot water?
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I meant I usually heat half the water
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Sorry but there are so many issues with this shampoo that I don’t know where to start. Your problem isn’t that it turns yellow, your problem is that this concoction does do the job. Less than 10% of active surfactants, just one surfactant and no co-surfactants. Plus you reduced its cleaning abilities but adding oil. As mentioned above, your decyl glucoside might not be enough for solubilising that much oil. It doesn’t clean. Among the reasons mentioned above, it probably turns yellow because you added 5% of ascorbic acid to a water based product. LAA is not stable. It oxidizes and turns yellow. Don’t try to save it, just reformulate it completely.
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If you could clarify: Are you using Citric Acid or Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) in your formula, or are you using both? It seems that you are perhaps confusing Citric Acid and Ascorbic Acid in your comments …. Citric Acid is not “Vitamin C”
I don’t know exactly what you intend from your formula, but your oil content is very, very high and as noted above, oil suppresses foam formation. You might consider cutting your total oils content down to 1.5% maximum.
There are some cold-process pearlizers, but I doubt that you would be able to purchase from a re-packer. But, you can purchase Glycol Stearate from makingcosmetics.com. Add the Glycol Stearate pellets to Decyl Glucoside and heat the mix to make homogeneous then add the oils and mix to make homogeneous. Add this mixture to your stirring water phase.
Note: To have a better foaming shampoo, your Decyl Glucoside level should be more on the order of 30% to 35%, particularly with the addition of oils. Since Decyl Glucoside is a mild, non-ionic surfactant, you really don’t need a co-surfactant, but since you want a white product, I would consider adding 5% to 10% Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate to your mixture which will turn it white and increase the viscosity.
So, you might consider Decyl Glucoside (30%), Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate (7%), Glycol Stearate (2%), Oils (1.5%).
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There’s Tego Pearl sold by a repacker in the UK.
https://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/tego-pearliser-770084I tried it and can confirm it’s quite easy to use. It’s based on glycol distearate. They have international shipping.
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@MarkBroussard I will do as you recommended. Decrease oils and increase decyl. Yes I meant citric acid is what I used. Can I keep the aloe Vera and xanthan/guar in formula?
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Yes, there is no issue with Aloe Vera, Xanthan/Guar in your formula. Can you clarify … are you using Guar Gum as a thickener or Hydroxypropyltrimonium Guar as a conditioner?
Tego Pearl will work just fine … incorporate in your heated surfactant phase at 3% to 4% should do the trick. If not, just add more.
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@MarkBroussard yes I was using xanthan as a thickener.
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