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Improving lactic acid moisturizer
Hello, I’ve been making quite a good and likeable anti-aging formula , containing lactic acid and retinyl palmitate. I would like advice on how to improve the formula and also make it cheaper if possible.
Clients want a thick, not too-oily cream, packed in a jar
Formula
Water phase 70%
lactic acid - 6%
glycerin - 2%
propylene glycol - 3%
allantoin - 0.5%
acacia gum - 5%
salicylic acid - 0.2% ( only as preservative)
Aqua - qsOil phase 28% ( maybe it should be lower %? )
Tego Care 450 emulsifier - 3% ( INCI: Polyglyceryl-3 Methylglucose distearate)
Stearic acid - 4%
Cetyl Palmitate - 6%
Shea butter - 3%
Sunflower oil - 12%Cold phase - Retinyl palmitate 2%, fragrance
Keep in mind that in my country I could barely obtain any ingredient, there are almost no cosmetic supply companies and I have to use lab suppliers
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3 Replies
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Also, among the mentioned ingredients, which is best to increase for more thickness?
I think I have enough solid fats , however viscosity is still low, i’m really wondering what is causing that -
You could try partially neutralising the lactic acid so that you have a mixture of lactic acid and one of its salts (sodium, potassium, ammonium).
To increase viscosity you could try replacing all or part of the cetyl palmitate and/or stearic acid with cetyl, cetearyl or stearyl alcohol.
The quantity of acacia seems rather high - what is its function in the mix?
I would not rely on 0.2% salicylic acid as an effective preservative.
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I would recommend dropping your total oils/emollients (Cetyl Palmitate, Shea Butter & Sunflower Oil) to 15 or 16% … So, you might try dropping each of those proportionately to 4%, 3%, 8%.
Yes, 5% Acacia Gum doesn’t make much sense and is probably also part of your problem. You’ll only need 0.2% to 0.3% as an emulsion stabilizer.
Ditto on replacing the Stearic Acid with Cetyl Alcohol to thicken it up.
With that much Lactic Acid … I assume your pH is around 3.5 … you won’t need much, but as mentioned above, Salicylic Acid alone is not a broad spectrum preservative.
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