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Conditioning shampoo for Beards
Greetings
I’ve been trying to formulate a conditioning shampoo (2 in 1) for beards for sometime and I think I am getting closer. Below is the latest formula that i’ve made. PH was at 6.25. I added lactic acid and dropped it down to about 5.0. I’ve been unable to find the active matter for the Iselux, however, i’ve contacted the supplier that I purchased it from and they didn’t have the information so I’m waiting to hear back from Innospec. The active matter for the Plantapon and CAPB is 3.8.
What I’m trying to create is a formula that has reasonable foam but will leave a beard feeling extremely soft. My goal is to use this as a more daily wash/conditioner and then 1 time per week use a true shampoo then conditioner. My question is what can I remove and/or add to improve my formula?
Water 65.5%
Cationic Guar 1%
Glycerin 3%
Provitamin B5 1.5%
Iselux Ultra Mild 10%
Plantapon LGC (sodium Lauryl glucose carboxylate and Lauryl Glucoside) 6%
Coco Betaine 5%
Polyquat-7 1%
Peg-7 1.5%
Luxglide N350 (natural dimethicone alternative) .5%
Luxglide N5 (natural cyclomethicone alternative) .5%
Oat Protein 2%
Tetrasodium Glutamate .5%
Germall Plus .5%
Glyceryl Caprylate Caprate (for thickening) .5% -
11 Replies
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I am making an assumption that hair is hair, and what works for regular shampoo must work for beard shampoo.
Glycerin and B5 (panthenol) don’t do anything so you can get rid of them.
Peg-7 - is it peg-7 glyceryl cocoate?
Cationic guar might cause problems in anionic shampoo (iselux is still anionic). Consider replacing.
The main advice, replace polyquat 7 to polyquat 10 . It’s much more conditioning and it adds viscosity, so you will kill two birds with one stone. If it’s still not enough, add amodimethicone as well. -
Thank you for the reply. I agree that hair is hair, however, beard hair is a lot thicker and more course. The formula needs to be more sensitive at least to me as my face is more sensitive than my head. I’ve used shampoos with higher levels of surfactants and my face was constantly itchy.
Would you say the addition of Plantapon LGC is necessary? I tried using Chemconx Mild LSB (sodium Lauryl sulfoacetate and disodium laureate sulfosuccinate) at 6% instead of the Plantapon LGC and the foam was really poor.
I will remove the glycerin and the panthenol on my next batch. Yes, it’s Peg-7 glyceryl cocoate. The reason I chose cationic guar is because Innospec used it in their Iselux materials as having the highest wet/dry combing. I will purchase polyquat 10 and use it to replace the polyquat 7 and the cationic guar and see how it feels.
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I would say iselux and CAPB is sufficient. Try polyquat 10. It’s a game changer.
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Thank you again. I’ll order some polyquat 10 and try with just those two surfactants. Would you or anyone else happen to know what the active matter % is for the Iselux?
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I found this but it’s not precise:
Product Name CAS NO WT %Sodium Lauroyl Methyl
Isethionate
928663-45-0 8 - 15Cocamidopropyl Betain 61789-40-0 7 - 11
Sodium Methyl Oleoyl
Taurate
137-20-2 5 - 9Lauryl Glucoside 110615-47-9 1 - 5
Coco-Glucoside 68515-73-1 1 - 5
Sodium Benzoate 532-32-1 0. 1 - 1
You probably need to write to your supplier. I like the combination of Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Sodium Methyl Oleoyl Taurate and CAPB but I have them all separately. A bit time consuming to melt but gives more flexibility in formulation
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Innospec did get back to me and they said it has between 41-43% solids. I ordered the polyquat 10 and will report back when I make the new formula. Thanks for your help.
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Good luck.
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At some point I want to add a fragrance to this formula, will the peg-7 be enough or should I add a separate solubilizer? Any recommendations?
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Unfortunately there’s no easy answer. It depends what fragrance and how much, so you would need to experiment.
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Yes, you have to experiment. Most fragrances require some type of solubilizer like Polysorbate 20.
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@Perry, I noticed that olefin sulfonate is the best (definitely better than SLES) for solubilizing fragrance (no need to add specialized solubilizers). I can deal with 0.5% of lavender EO without getting cloudy. The downside, it’s yellow.
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