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  • Body Wash Formulation Help

    Posted by halilagca94 on May 5, 2025 at 10:27 am

    I am trying to create a dupe of a well-known body wash from the brand Native and running into problems with viscosity.

    The ingredients listed are :

    Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Fragrance, Sodium Salicylate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid

    From what I can tell, the formula likely uses a high percentage of Capb. Sodium Chloride probably doesn’t exceed 3-4%, and the Sarcosinate and SCI levels should be lower than that. Based on that I have tested multiple versions.

    * 20-30% Capb (45 Active)

    * Around 3-4% each of Sarcosinate and SCI, I also tried 10% Sarcosinate (mine is 30% active) since I know some versions are available in powder form with higher actives.

    I have had no issue with SCI precipitation and maneged to get a stable, clear liquid

    The formulation doesnt respond to Sodium Chloride at all - no thickening, no matter what I do. I dont want to use polymers or other thickeners - I want to stick to the original formula and thicken it with salt, just like Native seems to do.

    I have tested different ph levels and various salt concentrations, but nothing works.

    Any idea why this system refuses to thicken with salt?

    Fedaro replied 38 minutes ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • Aniela

    Member
    May 5, 2025 at 12:21 pm

    I would start questioning the order on the ingredients list: the one on their website is this “Salt, Citric Acid, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Sodium Salicylate, Fragrance.“, which obviously it’s not accurate, as the first listed ingredient should not be salt.

    The list you’ve provided, again, might be just a “convenient “variation, and not the real order of the ingredients. Unfortunately that’s a pretty common practice when a company is not big- they think only the big players are exposed…

    You could ignore the order on the list and just make a body wash with CAPB as a secondary surfactant, and SCI+SLS as the primary ones, and see how that goes.

    That aside, the liquid form of CAPB comes with salt. The one I use has 37% active, and 5.8-7.3% sodium chloride, so you’ll have around 1.8-2% salt if using 30% CAPB, and that can already be too much for the surfactant system you’ve used- hence the system “doesnt respond to Sodium Chloride at all - no thickening, no matter what I do”. There’s also the possibility that I’m thinking according only to my experience and not to the real chemistry, so I’ll pass this ball to @ketchito 😇

    • Fedaro

      DIY formulator
      May 5, 2025 at 1:20 pm

      Just thought I would mention that Native has been owned by Procter & Gamble (P&G) since 2017. The ingredients list on their most recently released body wash is as follows:

      Water, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Fragrance, Sodium Salicylate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid.

      • Aniela

        Member
        May 5, 2025 at 2:07 pm

        Thank you for the heads-up.

        Does that leave the salt present in the liquid CAPB as the “culprit”?

        • Fedaro

          DIY formulator
          May 5, 2025 at 2:16 pm

          That sounds like a logical deduction. Unfortunately, I’m not an expert, so I can’t say for certain. 😅

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