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Feedback on a Basic Shampoo Formula
Hi! I’m novice cosmetic chemist (currently a college chemistry student) and am trying to formulate a simple, basic shampoo. While I want the shampoo to be a good product, the purpose of this is more experiential and it will not be for consumer use. Based on my research I came up with this formulation:
water
sodium laurel sulfate
cocamidopropyl betaine
isododecane and caprylyl methicone
sodium benzoate
Are there any concerns about this formulation (i.e. won’t mix, won’t clean, too harsh)? I’m open to all feedback, so if you have suggestions on alternative ingredients please let me know!
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5 Replies
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The isododecane & caprylyl methicone are not a good choice for a shampoo.
Sodium benzoate isn’t a particularly good preservative either.And of course things depend on the levels of these ingredients.
Also, you can get conditioning by adding a cationic polymer like Polyquaternium 7
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mswalsh said:…currently a college chemistry student…sodium laurel sulfate
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Are there any concerns…I’m open to all feedback…First, I hope that you’re really that open to all feedback since my concern with your formulation is just one: Hopefully, your chemistry professor doesn’t read your post! There is no such thing as sodium laurel sulfate. The product you’re referring to is likely either sodium lauryl sulfate (as a chemist, you might be more familiar with the term sodium dodecyl sulfate or simply SDS) or sodium laureth sulfate aka sodium lauryl ether sulfate. These two are similar but not identical (the latter one contains a short PEG chain making it ‘softer’).I know, not the help you expected 🙂 . -
Pharma said:mswalsh said:…currently a college chemistry student…
sodium laurel sulfate
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Are there any concerns…I’m open to all feedback…First, I hope that you’re really that open to all feedback since my concern with your formulation is just one: Hopefully, your chemistry professor doesn’t read your post! There is no such thing as sodium laurel sulfate. The product you’re referring to is likely either sodium lauryl sulfate (as a chemist, you might be more familiar with the term sodium dodecyl sulfate or simply SDS) or sodium laureth sulfate aka sodium lauryl ether sulfate. These two are similar but not identical (the latter one contains a short PEG chain making it ‘softer’).I know, not the help you expected 🙂 .Sorry about that! I just noticed that, it must’ve been autocorrect. I meant sodium lauryl sulfate.
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Lauryl sulfate will yield a blotchy, stringy flow as compared to SLES.
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You forgot one crucial thing. Salt (simple NaCl) to thicken it.
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