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Consistency of Lathering Shaving Cream
In trying to make the consistency lighter in my shaving cream, I found three formulas of mine that I had made, compared the samples and found a very light version, a more medium one and one that is slightly too thick.
I had lowered the oil phase sizes in each of these 3 formulas to three different levels and added the missing water to replace what was taken away which is what caused the change in consistency.My concern was that in these batches with more water in them, there was more evaporation in time and I want a product that doesn’t evaporate during usage and perhaps in time this will cause the consistency to be affected!
In doing a review of research for another method, I found two things from Noone’s book which caught my eye and made me think I should investigate them!
1. “Thomssen and Kemp state that
the most important factor in controlling the consistency of a lather shaving
cream is the ratio of caustic soda to caustic potash. Small changes in this
ratio can alter the consistency of a product quite markedly.”2. He also recommended “5
to 10 parts of potash soap to 1 part of soda soap” but he and others suggested using just the 5/1 ratio in the formulas they had written.So, I have always used a 5/1 ratio of KOH/NaOH and I have replaced some of the oils with more fatty acids as well! Which I think is part of the problem!
What I didn’t do was to try an adjustment to the 5/1 ratio to compensate for that! I just tried a 6/1 ratio version the other day which was a little lighter but it needs to be lighter like maybe a 7/1 or an 8/1 ratio might be right?
So, what I need to know is: Do you think that lowering the oil phase (including the adjusted amounts of the hydroxides) and raising the water phase is not a good idea as far as the stability of the formula? (I’m not sure but I think it is not a good idea)
Do you think that making adjustments to the KOH/NaOH ratio is the proper thing to do to get a better consistency? (I do happen to think that it is)
I just don’t want to bark up the wrong tree!Thanks for your time and your assistance! David
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