Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating General Can Preservative Cap-5 or Cap-2 also work as an emulsifier

  • arachne013

    Member
    March 21, 2018 at 11:16 pm

    I do understand what you are saying. Stumbling across this site was, I thought, a good addition of accumulating the proper information, as there is much misinformation out there. If it seems like one of my questions seems too primary or doesn’t make sense, then just skip it.

    And again, thanks for the links

  • arachne013

    Member
    March 21, 2018 at 11:34 pm

    And back to the original question and the title of this discussion, I now know, Cap-2 or Cap-5 will not work, (which is what I asked about to begin with) but I have seen it on some sites which were obviously incorrect. Thank you for the correction.

  • belassi

    Member
    March 21, 2018 at 11:51 pm

    The ingredient list didn’t include any percentages
    None do, but when a LOI (list of ingredients) is provided by a reputable company, we have ways of estimating the % use. 
    A product that is shaken before use is generally speaking not a professional product. Where did you get this? Not ETSY I hope? That place is . . . well, I had better not say what I think.
    BTW. CAP5 or 2 is perfectly appropriate to preserve it. Radish root stuff isn’t, unless the % of ethanol is high, say 30%.

  • Bill_Toge

    Member
    March 22, 2018 at 12:32 am

    @Belassi a major multi-national haircare brander, who used to subcontract the manufacturing of one of their products to our site because it was literally impossible to make on their own plant (their minimum batch size was relatively large, and the product would separate part-way through the production run on their site), outsourced this product to a new plant they acquired abroad, and even though the product name and INCI list has not changed, the product made at this plant is as different to the one we made as chalk is to cheese, and anyone with eyes and fingers can tell it’s not the same stuff

    what I’m trying to say in that wall of text is that no, lists of ingredients are never 100% reliable, regardless of where they come from

  • Microformulation

    Member
    March 22, 2018 at 2:57 am

    @DAS ” I bought flour, a spoon, and a cow, how do I make a cake?”

    BEST COMMENT EVER.

  • belassi

    Member
    March 22, 2018 at 5:10 am

    Argan/Rosehip Oil and Coconut water serum that I usually just shake before using
    I don’t really like throwing formulations out there without having had experience in that type of product. However, this is not exactly complicated. The LOI you provided is obviously not correctly in order. Others may chime in but I would try:
    Argan/Rosehip Oil . . . 5%
    Coconut water Difficult because there are many types and strengths of coconut drink style products. But too much would be sticky. So . . . 5-10%
    Vitamin E . . . 0.1%
    Ethanol . . . 30%
    Fragrance - depends. If this is for the face, typically use 0.2% - do NOT use essential oils. At this point I would like to draw the attention of the other chemists to the recent report that many EOs are endocrine disruptors.
    Water Q/S, approx. 60%
    That amount of ETOH may or may not be enough to solubilise the oil, vitamin E, and fragrance. You would need to begin trials. Use 5000 rpm or greater high shear blender to make test samples. Measure the time to separate and the thickness of the layers.
    If it separates you will need to add a solubiliser eg/ Polysorbate 20 or HCO - which one depends on various factors I won’t discuss here.
    With 30% ethanol you don’t need a preservative but you will need to keep it in an airtight container or the ETOH will evaporate. The upside is that it would be COSMOS compliant according to my experience of that standard.
    The alternative approach is to use a lower level of ETOH eg 5%-10%, and an emulsifier combo and a proper preservative. I’ve written enough, I think.

  • Doreen

    Member
    March 22, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @arachne013
    There is nothing wrong with asking questions and the level you’re at really doesn’t matter! It is obvious that you are a beginner and there’s nothing wrong with that or the questions that come with it. It’s just that some people seem ashamed of it and act like they have quite some experience. This was my point. There’s no need to ‘prove’ yourself.

    I still see myself as a beginner. That and I will never even reach the level of the scientists on here because I’m a homecrafter, not a cosmetic scientist and that’s ok.
    I’ve been ‘formulating’ and preparing concoctions for about 5 years now. I’ve learnt a lot in those years, but still have a whole lot more to learn.
    I’ve made dermatological preparations for years when I was a pharmacy technician, but that’s very different (standardized protocols instead of formulating and experimenting).
    Since I’m a pharmacy practitioner I don’t prepare anymore, that’s when I started homecrafting (I still miss preparing aseptic/sterile medication however).

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