Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating How much and HOW to use sodium lauryl sulfate, potassium sorbate & sodium benzoate in a toothpaste?

  • How much and HOW to use sodium lauryl sulfate, potassium sorbate & sodium benzoate in a toothpaste?

    Posted by Margaret2 on February 27, 2015 at 5:47 pm

    Yo people,

    I acquired some sodium lauryl sulfate, in a powder form recently for use in toothpaste. The provider, Stepan, does not have any formulae on their web-site for toothpaste, and I don’t know exactly how to, nor how much to  incorporate into my toothpaste.
    They call this SLS: Stepanol WA-100 
    I was considering warming the glycerin that’ll be in my toothpaste & dissolving the SLS in that, but I am without any clue* if this is what I should do (I just made a rhyme!).
    Also, any ideas as to the % of potassium sorbate & sodium benzoate I should add to the toothpaste, and how I show go about it? Should I also dissolve THOSE in the warmed glycerin? 
    Thanks in advance for advice folks!
    * I am therefore clueless.
    Margaret2 replied 9 years, 2 months ago 6 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    February 27, 2015 at 7:10 pm

    JM Huber is the worlds largest manufacturer of the silica abrasive that goes into toothpaste. They also own CP Kelco. This is a good place to start looking for info:


    Lubrizol’s carbopol is also used in toothpaste:

    So is Vanderbilt’s Veegum:

    You can see that the SLS is usually added last, without dissolving it in anything. It’s not critical to the performance of the toothpaste, so very little needs to be added.

    I have no idea how much potassium sorbate and/or sodium benzoate you should add, or even if you should add any at all.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 28, 2015 at 12:22 am

    SLS is an ingredient I would want to leave out of toothpaste. It is an irritant to the mucous membranes. There are far better surfactants available.

  • David

    Member
    March 1, 2015 at 5:36 pm

    The exact composition of a particular toothpaste varies with each manufacturer, but a typical formulation is abrasive 10-40%, humectant 20-70%, water 5-30%, binder 1-2%, detergent 1-3%, flavour 1-2%, preservative 0.05-0.5% and therapeutic agent 0.1-0.5%.



    good luck!
  • alam

    Member
    March 2, 2015 at 11:09 am

    Dear Margreat,

    You can try cetylpyridinium chloride (Ronacare CPC from Merck) instead of SLS.
  • David

    Member
    March 2, 2015 at 7:52 pm

    alam may I ask where you got that from?

    It looks like a nasty ingredient to me!
    WGK
    WGK 3 highly water endangering
    Hazard Symbol
  • Bill_Toge

    Member
    March 3, 2015 at 8:09 am
    @Margreat, in my experience SLS is used in toothpastes between 0.5 and 1.5%, and it’s best to dissolve in part of the water before you add it to the batch; you may need to heat the water to achieve a full and timely dissolution
    you’ll need to mix it into the batch slowly and in stages, as it foams a lot and makes a the product more prone to aeration

    @David, you only use CPC at 0.1-0.2% MAXIMUM, so the inherent hazards of the raw material are considerably reduced in the final product

  • Margaret2

    Member
    March 3, 2015 at 11:00 pm

    Thanks so much to all of you with your suggestions.  

    I have been making toothpaste without SLS, but since I have it now, I thought I’d use it & get a little bubbling happening while brushing. It makes us look more vicious to be foaming, ha ha, hee hee! 

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