“mild” diy shampoos = irritated/itchy

Formulating

“mild” diy shampoos = irritated/itchy

Posted by Climatechangeanxiety on February 12, 2021 at 5:20 pm

hi, i’ve been formulating liquid shampoos using low ASM (8-12%), tried using all sorts of mild surfactants, eliminating anionics, adding coconut oils, stearic acid, and at the end of my shower, all shampoo versions have led to some sort of very minimal yet definitely noticeabke itch/irritation on my skin (arm, thigh, feet, sometimes face). sometimes its less of an itch and more of a prick/tingle. No rashes (well one time i showered with just hydroxysultaine and that gave me rashes)

V1: slight itchy “pricks”
SCI 2% + Hydroxysultaine 10% (coco oil, stearic acid, salt 2%, cationic gg, xanthan)

V2: same irritation as above

SCI/disodium cocoyl glutamate 2%+ Hydroxysultaine 10% (coco oil, stearic acid, salt 2%, cationic gg, xanthan)

V3:no anionics, less itchy than V1 but still slightly irritated skin
Hydroxysultaine 15% + decyl glucoside 10% (coco oil, stearic acid, cationic gg, xanthan)

V4: subtle itches on thighs, shoulder, arm.
Hydroxysultaine 8% + decyl glucoside 15% (coco oil 1%, stearic acid 1%, cationic gg, xanthan)

What gives? i eventually eliminated all anionics.
ive been showering 2x everyday w these shampoos.

do i possibly have some sort of skin disease that i dont know about? i dont get rashes though!

i’m perplexed

ozgirl replied 3 years, 3 months ago 5 Members · 12 Replies
12 Replies

Climatechangeanxiety

Member
February 12, 2021 at 5:49 pm

I thought that nonionics rinse off well in hard water, do not really bind to skin protein and therefore more ‘mild’?

could the amphoteric cocomidapropyl hydroxysultaine be giving me the itchy tingles? Forgot to mention I adjusted my PH to 4.5 on all versions.

Should I make a shampoo using ONLY nonionics?

Or is it because my shampoos are too minimalist? should I up my percentages of fatty alcohols, polymers? Should I try adding more nonionic surfactant combo like coco-glucoside in addition to the decyl glucoside?
Cafe33

Member
February 12, 2021 at 9:16 pm

How are you adding stearic acid to your shampoo?
Climatechangeanxiety

Member
February 12, 2021 at 10:49 pm

i melt it in the coconut oil over a double boiler, then combine with the other surfactants. are you suggesting it could be the culprit depending on the way i prepare it? @Cafe33
JOJO91343

Member
February 13, 2021 at 6:09 am

You may try Sodium Decylglucosides hydroxypropyl sulfonate (Naturally derived from renewable sources and mild), chembetaine (amphoteric) and Lauryl Glucoside. Also, you may add Panthenol as a skin conditioning agents and sodium PCA (Moisturizing Agent) at 40 c close to the end of the batch
Cafe33

Member
February 13, 2021 at 10:46 pm

Climatechangeanxiety said:

i melt it in the coconut oil over a double boiler, then combine with the other surfactants. are you suggesting it could be the culprit depending on the way i prepare it? @Cafe33

I have never seen stearic acid used in a shampoo/body wash without an emulsifier. I remember making a pre shave cream and in one rendition my stearic acid ratio was too high compared to my soap (potassium stearate) concentration and I have never itched so much in my life.

I am not experienced enough to tell you definitely that it would be the stearic acid but I do know that it has no place in your shampoo. The data you provided is interesting as the itchiness decreases as you increase your surfactant level which typically should be the opposite. Perhaps the increased surfactant concentration is aiding in properly rinsing off the stearic acid ?

I really don’t know but I do know that the stearic acid has no place in this formula. I would remove the stearic acid/coconut oil and start over.
ozgirl

Member
February 15, 2021 at 11:47 pm

What is your preservative? Some preservatives can cause irritation to some people.

Definitely leave out the stearic acid, it is not generally used in shampoos. Coconut oil is just suspressing foam and reducing cleaning performance.

As the Cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine is common to all formulas it could be that you have a sensitivity to this material.

HTH
Abdullah

Member
February 16, 2021 at 1:19 pm

1. Are these percentages that you are writing active surfactants or actual surfactant that has water?
If active surfactant then %25 is too high.
If actual surfactant then less than %5 is too little and cant clean you.

2. As ozgirl said what is your preservative?

3. Why are you showering 2x/day with Shampoo?

4. If you want your Shampoo to be able to clean you use anionic surfactant around %10 AS.

Try this one
SLES %10 AS

Hydroxysultaine %1 AS

Preservative
Water
Climatechangeanxiety

Member
February 16, 2021 at 2:56 pm

@Abdullah thank you for your questions and help!

1. Are these percentages that you are writing active surfactants or actual surfactant that has water? The second. Not ASM.
If active surfactant then %25 is too high.
If actual surfactant then less than %5 is too little and cant clean you.

2. As ozgirl said what is your preservative? None, I make it and use it within 3 days.

3. Why are you showering 2x/day with Shampoo? To test my shampoo iterations!

4. If you want your Shampoo to be able to clean you use anionic surfactant around %10 AS. I’ve tried putting as low as 5% SCI (not active matter), inclwater, in my liquid shampoo and it dried out my face, body, SO badly (and my fforrmula had coconut oil, cationic guar).

I have particularly sensitive skin, scalp.
Climatechangeanxiety

Member
February 16, 2021 at 2:57 pm

@ozgirl no preservative. Maybe similar to CAPB, coca hydroxysultaine has contaminants? I have particularly sensitive skin
Abdullah

Member
February 16, 2021 at 4:31 pm

@Climatechangeanxiety
I once mixed some xanthan gum in water and after 1 day i was seeing fungi growing in it. So definitely one reason is you don’t have preservative.

I haven’t worked with SCI so cant say anything about it.

Dont use coconut oil in Shampoo. Use it after shampooing.

If you have sensitive skin and have cationic guar available try this formula.

SLES %9 AS

Sultain %3 AS

Cationic guar %0.2
Broad spectrum preservative (must)
Water
Climatechangeanxiety

Member
February 17, 2021 at 1:14 pm

thanks for the tips @Abdullah ! the issue is i only itch/get the tingles after I shower/day after. If I don’t shower, the itches go away. The symptoms are pretty muchh immediate so I doubt it is a fungal infection.

That said, I tried hydroxysultaine at a low percentage and it seemed better. It only starts itching If I use at 10%+
ozgirl

Member
February 18, 2021 at 12:13 am

If you have a sensitivity Cocamidopropyl betaine it is likely that you also have a sensitivity to Cocamidopropyl hydroxysultaine.

It is thought that the allergen in CAP Betaine is actually impurities from the manufacturing process and similar impurities would also be present in CAP hydroxysultaine.

Try a different surfactant and reconsider the use of a preservative to stop contamination of your products.