-
Foam Quantity
Hi guys! I’m trying to make a handwash formulation using SLES and cocoamidopropyl betaine as surfactants. The cleaning results are good but the foam produced is not much. I am confused if I should try tweaking the ratio of surfactants or try adding another nonionic/amphoteric surfactant in small amount. Any help would be appreciated?
-
15 Replies
-
What percentage and ratio have you tried?
-
i am trying sles and capb in ratios 2:1 and 4:1
-
Try 10:1 ratio.
-
@starlord13 What’s the total surfactant level you’re using? Also, do you have a chelating agent? It’d be better if you post your formula, with percentages (at least for your main ingredients).
-
@ketchito total surfactant level is below 10%. No I’m not using any chelating agent as of now. I’ve seen EDTA in other formulations so have been thinking of trying that.
70% SLES -10%
30% CAPB -5.83% -
@starlord13 I guess the ratio is not bad however the total surfactant level is low try to increase it, then the quality of water effects the foam of your product lower minerals higher foam.
-
@Fekher thanks, will do that.
would you recommend adding a third surfactant? -
@starlord13 not necessary, the most important is working for the water’s quality and adding chelating agent sush EDTA as @ketchito mentioned can help little bit.
-
@ketchito when we say total surfactant level do we mean total active surfactant as in if 70% sles so and we’re adding x amount so total surfactant level would be x or 0.7x?
-
Total active content is the content of the pure surfactant (as if you have it as a 100% material, not taking into account water present in commercial solutions).
-
@starlord13 as you said total active equal to level of use of surfactant * concentration
As example for N70 if the level of use is 10% then active surfactant is =70*0.1=7 -
@starlord13 the amount of SLES & CAP Betaine is fair for hand wash, but their are other factors that influence the foaming
1. The water hardness (use EDTA ~0.1% )
2. Add foam boosting Surfactants (CC DEA) -
A total anionic content of 7% is a bit low for a hand wash. With that level of Betaine, I believe an increase of anionic surfactant would make a difference.
As @Quimico suggested, addition of a chelating agent can also work. The addition of a foam stabilizer (like CDEA) can give a more durable foam. If you want to increase flash foam, an amine oxide is recommended.
-
Polyquaternium-7 is good.
-
would something like foaming silk help?
Log in to reply.