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BTMS 25 Max usage percentage.
Good day. What is the max percentage BTMS 25 I can use in a conditioner bar?
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3 Replies
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You can use as much as you want
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Croda states that the typical usage is 1- 10% for the BTMS-25 but this seems to be based on usage in liquid products. They also have a conditioner bar formula that uses 59% BTMS-25. Which is about 15% active BTMS.
You can also check Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) for guidance.
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It can start to have a fishy smell at any percentage but by around the 13% and up it is noticeable. Its also expensive so you don’t need a lot. Most formulators use a fatty alcohol or other co conditioner with BTMS. I highly recommend using more BTMS 25 than a fatty alcohol for an extra lux feel but its not necessary. Some people use far more of the fatty alcohols than the rich conditioning agent.
Start with min 25% to experiment and then go up. I use almost 40% which is a lot but my conditioner bars are very well balanced and delux. Its probably one of few items I’ve ever made that I could stake my career on. Try a basic formula first before spending a lot of time and money. You can literally do two formulas with two ingredients and make a very mini conditioner bar. Try one with more BTMS and one with more fatty alcohol or alternative agent. Use it and see what type of feel you prefer and what price point you’re aiming for.
Once you have an idea for the right BTMS level you can add a lipid like a butter or oil or both. Had someone told me this, I would have saved so much time and money! You’ll notice a huge difference. IMO you need a min of 10% lipids, although I’ve seen recipes with half that. After doing 3 tests, anything under 10% lipids in a simple bar formula didn’t have the same lux feel but it is possible. When I tried it with 15%, my hair was a little greasy but I didn’t balance it correctly.
Then slowly add the actives and preservatives. Oat is extra delux. I did a knock out formula and by far the oat not only had a lux feel in the shower but helped balance the lipid profile so my hair wasn’t greasy. At the end of the day, you could get away with just a bar made of BTMS and hair will be just fine. But marketing and how it feels while using it gives a high subjective rating. Most women will also leave it on a few minutes, just barely long enough to allow actives to be slightly beneficial. But most of it washes away. What I noticed was how the water/liquid/actives helped balance the lipids. It was too hard to come up with a 4 ingredient conditioner that was the perfect balance that performed as well as my OG recipe.
Otherwise, its very simple to make and you don’t really need a lot of ingredients even for marketing.
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