Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating General Does %0.2 EDTA and water at pH 7 need Preservative?

  • Does %0.2 EDTA and water at pH 7 need Preservative?

    Posted by Abdullah on June 1, 2021 at 5:56 am

    I want to make a Product to make the hard water soft during hair wash. It would be %0.3 or 0.2 EDTA and water at pH around 7. Add a teaspoon of this to some water and rinse the hair with that water.

    Does this product (%0.2-0.3 EDTA and water at pH 7 need Preservative? 

    Any thoughts on such product?

    Abdullah replied 3 years, 5 months ago 4 Members · 9 Replies
  • 9 Replies
  • Pharma

    Member
    June 1, 2021 at 8:39 am
    EDTA is not a preservative.
    I can’t say that I think your product idea that great. You could likely do as much with baking soda in water (adjust pH to 5-5.5). It doesn’t complex calcium but it does make hard water feel softer. And/or use sodium hexametaphosphate (best at neutral pH) or phytic acid (any pH) as a water softener.
    All these are more eco-friendly than EDTA.
  • PhilGeis

    Member
    June 1, 2021 at 10:06 am

    As Pharma said, you’ll need a preservative and prob a sodium salt of EDTA..
    Eco-friendly - gack - meaningless advertising for the rubes.  Your proposed use is irrelevant to the environment.  

  • Microformulation

    Member
    June 1, 2021 at 4:38 pm
    I worked on a project just like this in the past. A company wanted to test people’s water for hardness and then “customize” a shampoo/conditioner product for the client. In testing, however, it showed no real significant benefit at all levels. The takeaway was that water hardness was much less significant with syndets than with traditional saponified soaps.
  • Abdullah

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 12:05 am

    @Pharma @PhilGeis this product doesn’t have anything other than water and chelating agent. Why would microbes grow there?

    How much phytic acid and hexametaphosphate makes 1L hard water soft? 

  • Abdullah

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 12:08 am

    @Microformulation thanks
    How was the water hardness with liquid Shampoo? 

  • Microformulation

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 12:17 am
    I have to skirt NDA’s, but in general terms at no level of EDTA did we see any change in the foam properties when compared to a control. They did consumer testing and the reviewers noted no real change in performance. I believe afterward they went forward but expanded the concept to “shampoos custom made.” I would suppose it might be more significant with a saponified soap-based shampoo such as a Castille Soap.

  • Abdullah

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 12:36 am

    @Microformulation my focus is less on foam and more in preventing calcium attachment to hair and removing attached calcium from hair. Would it be helpful for this? 

  • PhilGeis

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 10:55 am

    Abdullah said:

    @Pharma @PhilGeis this product doesn’t have anything other than water and chelating agent. Why would microbes grow there?

    How much phytic acid and hexametaphosphate makes 1L hard water soft? 

    Bacteria can grow in distilled water - there is no need for what folks think of as “bug food”.

    How much theoretically depends on how hard you anticipate water to be.

  • Abdullah

    Member
    June 2, 2021 at 12:11 pm

    @PhilGeis thanks ????

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