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Help with my shampoo formulation
Hi everyone, I’m trying to make a sulfate-free “natural” (I know, I know) shampoo with the following formula:
Decyl Glucoside 23%
Cocamidopropyl Betaine 4%
Polyquaternium-10 0.5%
PEG-40 HCO 0.8%
Essential Oil 0.4%
Water to 100%1. Do you think the active surfactant matter is enough? I’ve chosen it based on the recommended 10-15% ASM. I’ve given it to a few friends and tried it myself as well and it seems like it cleanses well enough.
2. I’ve dispersed the polyquat-10 in water properly, however the shampoo has tiny, clear particles floating inside it. I’ve made a test with polyquat-10 at 0.1% in just water, heated and stirred and waited overnight but still I can see some bits floating. It is more obvious with 0.5%. Comparing it with other clear shampoos in the supermarket, the are mostly completely clear without floating particles, except for one brand that was made in Japan. Is this normal or am I doing it wrong?
3. This formula is slightly hazy. I’ve noticed that having more CAPB (for example 20% decyl glucoside, 10% CAPB) makes it hazier. How should I adjust to make the formula clearer? The PEG-40 HCO helps but increasing it further does nothing to the clarity.
Please let me hear your thoughts.
Thanks in advance!
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5 Replies
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Horrible choice of surfactants.
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Totally agree with Belassi. This shampoo would be almost impossible to thicken, leaving aside the fact that it will create a rat nest in one’s hair.
If you want sulfate-free shampoo, go for Sodium C14-16 olefin sulfonate (Bio Terge AS-40 liquid) + CAPB (at a higher % that you listed above) + something like Cocamide DEA for thickening.
Olefin Sulfonate is
1) Not “officially” a sulfate
2) Cheap
3) Effective
4) Lathers well
5) Relatively mild
6) Easy to work with.
There are plenty of other options such as sodium lauroyl sarcosinate, SLMI, SMCT, and their various combinations. -
I think an anionic surfactant should be your primary; decyl glucoside (and nonionics as a whole) I generally see as a secondary surfactant.
Cocomidopropyl betaine probably needs to be in double digits, and tends to haze — I think avoiding this is all in method of addition. My trick is to write “ABCDEFG” on a piece of paper under your beaker. Add everything in slowly with stirring and stop the instant your alphabet gets obscured, resume when it is easily readable. I would first try adding it slowly into an already mixed anionic/water phase.
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Thank you for the comments. In my country, I cannot get Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate. My other options are Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate and Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate and I’ll be ordering a small quantity to experiment with.
alchemist01, method of addition was something I did not consider. I’m quite new to this and I’ll definitely take note of that!
Belassi, ngarayeva001, If I were to use Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate and CAPB, would the following numbers be a good starting point?
Polyquaternium-10 0.5%
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate 14%
CAPB 8%
Essential Oil 0.4%
Would adding Decyl Glucoside or Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate bring anything to the above formulation?Thank you everyone for the advice!
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I can’t say, I used a different route, AKYPO RLM-45 as primary surfactant.
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