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Formulating highlighters glitters
I’m trying to formulate a nice pigmented highlighter and glitter both pressed and loose. I don’t want it to be harsh because of where it’s being placed on the body. So I’m trying to stay away from alcohols. Can someone help or have any suggestions?
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3 Replies
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i m also making glitters but i am adding rubbing alcohol in it..formula is best.
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What do you mean by harsh? If you used alcohol to press, it would evaporate in a day or two.
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I’ve seen rubbing alcohols used in DIY applications, but I dont really understand why…haha!
Most pressed glitter formulas use silicone binders and, if you’re wanting the formula to “dry down” for adherence (form a film, essentially) there’s plenty of volatile silicone compounds that will work. Volatile silicones evaporate at room temperature, though, so they need to be adjusted with a higher viscosity silicone to slow the evaporation time…
I did some legwork and pulled the LOI for a pressed glitter from Colourpop that should give you some insight:
Polyethylene Terephthalate, Dimethicone, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Polyurethane 33, Lauroyl Lysine, Magnesium Myristate, Chlorphenesin, Dehydroacetic Acid, Iron Oxides (CI 77492), Yellow 5 (CI 19140).
Because it’s a glitter, some of the ingredients are a little ambiguous, though. The PMMA could be used in resin form or could be part of the glitter (most likely glitter), the PET could be glitter (most likely) but is also used as a liquid, sometimes, and the Polyurethane 33 is most likely glitter but has other applications. The standouts, for me, are dimethicone - the liquid binder, Lauroyl Lysine - a binder, and magnesium myristate - a binder that, primarily, serves to improve skin adherence. So I’d start there. The chlorphenesin and dehydroacetic acid are the preservative system, which, to be honest, I don’t think is necessary (unless they aren’t for personal use, and then you’ll want to include one). Then the oxides and yellow 5 are pigments, obviously, but I would expect to see aluminium since that’s what’s bound to the sheets of polyurethane and acrylic to make glitter…but, basically, you just need Dimethicone (try at 7-10% and you’ll need to experiment with the viscosity and volatility), Lauroyl Lysine (maybe around 5-7%), and Magnesium Myristate (3%). So like 80% glitter to 10% binder and 10% wetting agent, then adjust as needed within the minimums and maximums for each component.
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