Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Is this formulation suitable for eczema & sensitive skin?

  • Is this formulation suitable for eczema & sensitive skin?

    Posted by dell on March 11, 2020 at 2:24 am

    I am working on a body wash that’s also suitable for my super dry & eczema skin. These are the ingredients: 

    Water

    40

    Glycerine

    1

    Olive soap base

    2

    Fragrance                                          

     3

    Polysorbate 20

    3

    EDTA

    0.1

    Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate

    4

    Coco Glucoside

    3

    Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate

    10

    CItric Acid

    3

    Acrylates Copolymer

    3

    Cocamidopropyl Betaine                     35.5

    DMDM Hydantoin                                 0.6

    Is this formulation ok? However, it’s cloudy and I’d like this body wash to look clear.

    Many thanks.

    dell replied 4 years, 6 months ago 5 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • ozgirl

    Member
    March 11, 2020 at 9:56 pm
    No idea if it is ok for your sensitive skin. You need to test it.
    What is the pH? You cannot use soap under about pH 8.5 or it will break down. So the first thing I would recommend would be to remove the soap base. This should help with the clarity.
    The amount of citric acid seems high as does the fragrance.
  • joowan11

    Member
    March 11, 2020 at 10:13 pm

    Is the smell of the raw ingredients really that off-putting? If not I’d ditch the fragrance. Maybe increase glycerin to 5% (it’s cheap regardless)..

  • alchemist01

    Member
    March 12, 2020 at 7:41 pm

    Fragrance is probably the first and easiest thing to ditch if you’re experiencing irritation issues, especially if this is just for personal use.

  • belassi

    Member
    March 13, 2020 at 2:17 am

    IMO the fragrance is far too high and I would use 1% max.
    The soap base is not a good match for the rest of the formula and will react with the citric acid to form (smelly) free fatty acids etc therefore, remove the soap base and reduce the citric acid to get pH 5 - 6.
    Polysorbate? Why? Get rid of it.
    Super dry skin? Use a refattener, eg PEG-7 glyceryl cocoate, and a water-soluble silicone ester, eg Silsense DW-16, which should markedly improve performance.
    acrylates for thickening? poor performance. Use 1.5% PEG-150 stearate (max) and if insufficient, Crothix liquid or Glucamate VLT.

  • dell

    Member
    March 25, 2020 at 7:47 am

    Hi @ozgirl 

    I’ve tested it a couple of times and seems ok so far, because my skin is not flaky anymore.

    The final pH is 6. I tried with olive oil, but the final product did not thicken and became even more cloudy. Hence, why I changed to Olive soap base.

    And as for fragrance, I used something called Body Fragrance Oil which is actually to make EDP but without the alcohol (one of Chanel’s fragrance imitation smell) because I love that smell so much. Should I change with essential oil instead? 

    Hello @czkld & @alchemist01

    I’m thinking of replacing it with essential oil  :) I just happen to love the current smell though because it’s similar to my favorite perfume. 

    I tried changing to all glycerin, but the effect of olive base is so much better on my skin.

    Hi @Belassi

    Previously I used lavender + grapefruit fragrance oils with olive soap base (& citric acid). It did turn rancid after a couple of weeks. Then I tried changing it to Body Fragrance Oil, it is ok now even after 3 months. Do you think it could start smelling after a few more months? 

    FYI, the current pH is already 6. I use ps20 because I thought it could make the shower gel look more clear by solubilizing fragrance oil better in the formulation (and to avoid the rancid smell too?)

    ====

    All in all, 

    1. How can I substitute Olive soap base with olive oil and still be able to have clear shower gel? - I tried olive oil + ps20 but did not work. It turned very cloudy and watery even with the same amount of acrylates, and it became two layers  :'( I mean I really like the effect of olive oil on my skin  :)

    2. Is this formulation acceptable for shampoo too? 

    Thank you for all your help! Stay safe everyone!

Log in to reply.

Chemists Corner