Hey everybody. I'm working on this thing that's completely gotten away with itself and I was hoping that someone might be able to look over what I'm doing and give me some pointers. I've done an enormous amount of research and the ingredient list has gotten quite large, so I apologize.
INCI: Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Aqua, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil, Shorea Robusta Seed Butter, Vitus vinifera seed oil, Magnesium Chloride, Zinc Oxide, MethylSulfonylMethane, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Nymphaea caerulea Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Avena Sativa kernel flour, Bambusa Arundinacea stem powder, Persea Gratissima Oil, Cannabis Sativa seed Oil, Hippophae Rhamnoides berry Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Thocopherol, Cholecalciferol
Wax:
2 Tbsp - Sal Butter
2 tsp - White Lotus Floral Wax
1 1/2 tsp - Jojoba Oil
3/4 tsp - Avocado Oil
1/2 tsp - Hemp Seed Oil
1 Tbsp - Non-Nano Zinc Oxide
Water:
2 Tbsp - Purified Water
1 Tbsp - Magnesium Chloride
1 Tbsp - OptiMSM
1 tsp - Colloidal Oat
Base:
4 Tbsp - Cupuacu Butter
3 Tbsp - Unfiltered Olive Oil
2 1/2 Tbsp - Grapeseed Oil
1/2 tsp - Vitamin E Oil (T-50)
1/2 tsp - Vitamin D3 Oil (in Olive Oil)
1/4 tsp - Vitamin C (Ascorbyl Palmitate)
1/4 tsp - Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil
1 tsp - Aloe Vera Juice Powder
1 tsp - Bamboo Extract Powder
- Wax and Sal butter (which is much like cocoa butter) is melted, then other ingredients added.
- Water heated, minerals added to dissolved, add to wax in blender, add oat, blend till smooth.
- All butter ingredients (Cupuacu is much like Shea) go into a standing mixer, mixed till incorporated, emulsion added slowly and mixed on medium speed so butter doesn't get grainy.
Here's my question:
I know that OptiMSM can be used as a preservative. It sounded to me like 10% is the minimum for this purpose (and ideally higher?). The current recipe has it at 5%. It sounded like this is not sufficient... it's being used in cultures, but my question is this: is it used in cultures because it discourages other microbes/ect so that the viruses they're growing (flu?) have a better chance at growing? Hence still having some microbial action?
As for the water portion of the emulsion, it comprises a much less significant quantity (about 10%)... and thus, by using some hurdle technology (low water content, other perishables suspended in the oil portion of the emulsion, additional salts via magnesium chloride) would maybe be sufficient preservative to keep for at minimum six months in less than ideal conditions (left in a car, kept on one's person in the heat, ect)?
The first batch of this I made did not include the oat, but had the aloe in the water portion. It has not grown mold as to yet. As a test, I left them empty container (which obviously has a thin coating of the cream) in my car. I made it about a month ago, and there hasn't been any signs of spoilage (but I not regret that experiment... it's a 4oz canning jar, so airtight).
I had also used magnesium sulfate for the magnesium component - I understand that both MSM and Magnesium Sulfate contain a sulfur component that acts to preserve the water portion.
I was also looking at adding a probiotic and was wondering if that would boost it's "shelf-life", or if it would be a better choice to add something like AMTicide, thin it out (with liquid oil), and throw it in a pump bottle?
I don't really want to add more water to increase the MSM content and not sure that it and the magnesium will totally dissolve and not separate out when added to the oil (and turn grainy) if I push the quantities too high.
I am considering adding Tumeric EO (Co2 extraction) to the mix but I'd like to keep it to 1% to avoid irritation since I formulated this for use with Psoriasis, which tends to sting like the dickens.
Furthermore: how the heck do I even test something thick for PH? Could a fruit juice powder or freeze dried fruit powder effectively lower the PH without having to add pure citric acid/ect, or perhaps an Orange EO? And does it matter that much in a topical (I do understand the acid mantle is a thing)?
Sorry for the novel. At least it's thorough?
Thank you so much for any help you can offer!
Comments
You have chosen perhaps one of the most difficult creams to make ... not a good place to start for a beginner.
I've developed a few MgCl creams and they are not easy formulas. As regards pH ... the pH of a 30% MgCl solution is 4.0. You have a pH incompatability between the MgCl and ZnO which is most stable at a pH of 7.0. So, you'd best ditch the ZnO.
Your biggest problem is that you don't have an emulsifier. You'll need to mix your waxes and oils together with an emulsifier(s) and a touch of water to form the cream. You might try Glyceryl Stearate and Glyceryl Oleate. Once the cream is formed and completely cooled down to room temperature, slowly add the MgCl solution in small aliquots and mix in. Then add a bit more and mix in. Keep doing this until you have added all of the MgCl solution.
MgCl readily breaks emulsions which is why you must add it to a cold cream and in small increments at a time. The cooled cream will be crazy thick and even after you add the MgCl solution it's going to be "lumpy" so you'll want to process it further to create a "smooth" cream.
Your next biggest problem is some confusion as to what is and what is not a proper preservative.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
AFAIK salts like Magnesium salts aren't absorbed well by the skin.
So please look up for studies on its absorption (i.e. at Pubmed). If Mg salts aren't well absorbed then you can sharply reduce its percentage, even as low as claim ingredient levels because it ain't really doing anything useful in the formula.
You may wish to read the studies cited here
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579607/
and fully replicate the formulations that have fairly good absorption, because not all do.
Don't take the article as is, as it's just a review article. Please read the studies cited there.
Here's a formula that was used in this referenced pilot study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5389641/
Magnesium Cream: Lot # T10224: Aqua, magnesium chloride (10%), cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, isopropyl palmitate, emulsifying wax, glycerine, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol
You might want to start with a more simple formulation to begin and then add other ingredients from there. I have developed MgCl cream formulas similar to the above. As I stated earlier, this is a challenging product to make. The alternative therapy market prefers the use of Zeichenstein salts as the source of MgCl.
With dissociated Cl ions in solution, all you need is a proton donor and it'll form HCl and the ZnO will react with the acid to decompose to Zinc Cloride.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
I can tell you from experience having developed 4 commercial MgCl Cream products that the pH of a 30% Zeichstein Salt MgCl solution is 4.0. Simple fact from direct experience.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
If this happened it would produce magnesium oxide + zinc chloride. However ... I think it's impossible, the positions on the electrochemical table imply the reaction can't move in that direction.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
I also made a 30% solution of Zechstein salts (my bad on the misspelling) the pH is 4.16 at 23.8C.
I agree that Zechstein salts are marketed quite effectively and that the claims are "creative". But, I do not think that they are refined to the purity of a USP-grade material, so they will obviously contain a higher proportion of "contaminants" ... but that's precisely why consumers in the naturopathic market prefer Zechstein salts.
Perhaps I should not believe my lying pH meter.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
MgCl2 + H20 = Mg(OH)2 + 2HCl
Water surrounds the Mg ions forming a Magnesium hexahydrate complex and the mixture has a stable pH in the range 4.0 to 5.0
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
2HCl + ZnO = ZnCl2 + H2O
and/or
MgCl2 + ZnO = ZnCl2 + MgO in a double replacement reaction.
Since Mg is more reactive than Zn, the reaction will be driven to the right.
So, for the OP, no, it is not a good idea to mix Zinc Oxide in your Magnesium Chloride cream ... the Zinc Oxide will convert to Zinc Cloride which defeats the whole purpose of add Zinc Oxide to begin with.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
Not to be argumentative, but your assertion that the pH drop is from undefined "contaminants" is what is ridiculous ... the chemistry is quite straightforward. And, a simple measurement of pH proves the point.
Stearic Acid & Zinc Oxide ... that has nothing to do with the topic of this discussion.
The Op's issue is whether or not to add ZnO to a MgCl cream ... that's just not a good idea since it is highly likely that the Zinc Oxide will dissolve and would not provide the envisioned skin protectant benefits.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
I don't know that anyone has ever studied the dissolution of ZnO in an acidic cream product containing Cl ions. But, ZnO very readily dissolves in HCl solution to form ZnCl2. When you dissolve MgCl2 in water, you're going to have Cl ions in solution ... twice as many Cl ions as you do when you dissolve NaCl in water. The hexahydrate of Mg2+ (aq) can form hydronium ions ... protonated water. Since ions in solution are simply charge densities interacting with one another, the dissolved Cl ions will be attracted to the protons ... that's HCl.
Of course, this is not a pissing contest nor a competition ... we're both accustomed to using chemical theory to explain empirical observations.
So, the empirical observation is that a MgCl solution using USP-grade material has a pH of 5.0. Zechstein salts have a pH of 4.0.
" pH can range from 5.5 to 7. If it's lower, it has to be due to contaminants and since most of the common contaminants of magnesium chloride do not affect pH ..."
^^^ Exactly the point ... if the contaminants do not affect pH, then it is not the contaminants causing the pH drop ... it has to be some form of acid.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
http://creationsnewsletter.com/issue3/3.aspx
pH stability
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
You would not notice anything with the naked eye ... the only way to tell what happened would be to do a chemical analysis, but that is just simply not worth the expense unless you really want to know.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com