Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Hair Looking for pomade formula help!

  • Looking for pomade formula help!

    Posted by Anonymous on November 14, 2016 at 2:21 am

    Hello! I’m very new to this site, so I’m looking for a little bit of guidance in my new pomade business. I want to start off with the ingredients I am currently using for my first product, and the consistency I get so far. Any help would be very appreciated!
    (These are all 4 ounce sample sizes)

    Ingredients:
    2oz Beeswax
    1oz Shea Butter
    1.5oz Hydrogenated Castor Oil (Varied/Gave a greasy look)
    1/8 tsp Jojoba Oil
    1/8 tsp Grapefruit Seed Extract
    1/8 tsp Vitamin E
    1/4 tsp Sweet Almond Oil
    1 Tbsp Vegetable Glycerin
    *Drops of fragrance

    The end product is not easy to get out of the containers, but once it is worked through the hands and hair the product gives a very low shine/light hold (natural look). This is exactly what I’m looking for in this particular product, but I’m wanting to know how to make it water soluble and easier to get out of the containers. Also knowing how to control the hold for this product (making it a heavier hold), would be great information as well. I’m open to all ideas for ingredients, as most of the ingredients used currently are very rudimentary. I’ve seen most products using PEG7, Glyceryl Cocoate, Cetereth25, Polysorbate20, etc…

    Thanks everyone in advance!

    gnomebeard replied 6 years ago 3 Members · 9 Replies
  • 9 Replies
  • Microformulation

    Member
    November 14, 2016 at 3:22 am

    Step 1. Convert this to wt/wt%. Fluid ounces and tsp’s are not proper Cosmetic notation.

  • Anonymous

    Guest
    November 14, 2016 at 3:25 am

    Would that be converting this formula to grams instead of ounces/tsp?

  • Anonymous

    Guest
    November 14, 2016 at 3:58 am

    Ingredients list updated into grams:

    56.69 grams Beeswax
    28.34 grams Shea Butter
    42.42 grams Castor Oil (varied)
    0.7 grams Jojoba Oil
    0.7 grams Grapefruit Seed Extract
    0.5 grams Vitamin E
    1.13 grams Sweet Almond Oil
    14.17 grams Vegetable Glycerin
    *Drops of fragrance

  • Microformulation

    Member
    November 14, 2016 at 4:52 am

    First you need to weigh your Essential oils, not use Drops.

    http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/11/question-how-to-convert-recipes-from.html

    Wt/Wt% is based upon percentages. For example if a product is used at 1%, for every 100 grams of product, there is one gram of the ingredient.

    These are the basics you must learn first.

  • Anonymous

    Guest
    November 14, 2016 at 4:54 am

    That is definitely an insight for me on what I may be doing wrong from the start. Thank you for that information. 

  • Microformulation

    Member
    November 14, 2016 at 5:43 am

    It is not me being difficult. And I am not saying that you implied that.

    Most of us are trained in the proper range of ingredients by percentage and this is how the references and distributors promote them. If they say a raw material is used at 2%, I am done with my calculation. Every 100 grams of final product will have 2 grams of that raw material. With your notation, if I said you need to add 2% Beeswax perhaps, you will be many calculations away.

    Next, wt/wt% is scaleable. With tsp’s when you need to increase the batch size by a factor of 100, you are still far off. Wt/Wt& simplified this. Also, volumetric measurement is inaccurate. This inaccuracy is compounded when you scale up. A tsp could be off (depending on the measurer) by a large amount, say 5%. Your weight measurements are as accurate as your scale and many go to 0.01 grams.

    Lastly, this is the notation Contract manufacturers use. Would you try to take this product for manufacturing the math would have to be reworked.

    As it is, you rightfully have a recipe, not a Formula.

  • Anonymous

    Guest
    November 14, 2016 at 5:53 am

    There is absolutely a lot more to this than I thought, and I appreciate the help and honesty. You are correct though in saying I have a recipe, not a formula. I am way off in calculations as of now. My current recipes are only called for low amounts of products for sampling, so I will need to calculate that in some way. 

  • Bobzchemist

    Member
    November 14, 2016 at 2:51 pm

    The calculation to go from grams in a recipe to % in a formulation is not hard if you use excel or the equivalent. There are explanations of this on the web.

  • gnomebeard

    Member
    October 1, 2018 at 10:16 pm

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