-
Creating a plant-based deodorant
My
business idea is to develop and commercialise a plant-based deodorant. The
plant in question has traditionally been used to successfully combat body odour
by simply plucking the leaf and rubbing in the armpit area. Any advice or guidance
on how to develop the leaf/plant into a commercial product would be appreciated
as I’m uncertain how to proceed and what the first steps should be. -
5 Replies
-
To be sold where, exactly?
-
Bobzchemist,
The product will be sold in the UK. -
Do you have any information on what chemical/s in the leaf are the active constituents? You will need to extract these actives into a useable form (or purchase an existing extract of this plant if it exists) and then create a deodorant formulation based on this extract. You will then need to test the efficacy of your product as a deodorant. I am not sure of the UK regulations but I am assuming that if you are creating a new extract there will need to be some type of registration and safety testing.
This is assuming that you are planning to make a commercial type deodorant and are not just planning to sell leaves to people.
Hope this helps
-
This is a huge project.
Making and testing raw materials, and then using them in cosmetics, at least in the UK/EU, is controlled pretty strictly by regulation.Are you sure no company has made an extract of this plant yet? -
Probably the first thing to do is to make sure it works. Since no one wants to rub a leaf on their underarms, the first thing I’d check is if a kitchen-blender puree of the leaf works as a deodorant. Sorry, but you will have to test on yourself, pretty much. Keep the plant material refrigerated.
Next, make a mix of the puree and water, and boil it covered for about an hour - keep checking and replacing evaporated water. Filter out the plant residue until you have a visibly clear liquid. Test the liquid as a deodorant - if it works, congratulations. If not, then getting the active ingredient(s) out will be more complicated. Check back here at this point.
Log in to reply.