-
Mustache Wax Formula
Hi,
I am looking to formulate a wax product to shape and hold mustaches. I would like it to be easy to work into the mustache hair and be able to provide a natural-looking, strong hold that lasts throughout the day and be able to easily wash out when needed. I have seen a lot of different waxes on the market and they all are different. I have tried using some of them but they seem to be difficult to apply and end up not holding well.I found one product that others claim to be easy to apply and has a strong hold. The ingredient list is rather simple:
Beeswax,
Glycerin,
Lavender Oil,
Essential Oils,
Sodium Bicarbonate
I’m not sure where to start in trying to figure out this formula and the sodium bicarbonate is confusing to me. I’m not sure why this would be used.Can someone help me to get started? Or does anyone have any ideas for how I could formulate this type of product.
-
5 Replies
-
in my experience many ingredients lists on this type of product are incomplete and/or just plain wrong, so I’d be tempted to disregard it and start again from first principles
if you don’t already have them, get some samples of different types of waxes, and see if you can get anything similar by combining them
I’d recommend starting with petrolatum, microcrystalline wax, lanolin wax, beeswax and carnauba wax
-
Thanks, Bill. I appreciate your advice. I have found some products to not have complete ingredient listings and sometimes even no ingredient listing.
I will get some different waxes and see what I can come up with. Do you think that if I add a polymer to the wax that it will help me to get what I am looking for? Do polymers work with waxes?
-
they do if they’re oil-soluble, but unless it’s a very unusual product they’re not generally necessary
-
These two links below will give you an idea for a starting formula: http://www.personalcaremagazine.com/formulation-details/2239/natural-hair-pomade?companyid=1259
http://sc.akzonobel.com/formulations/AkzoNobel_formulation_12859125w.pdf -
In my (very limited) experience a mustache wax needs to be soft enough to apply, but firm enough to hold.
With a wax/fat/oil based formula which has a temperature based viscosity, doesn’t work very well. As body heat melts the wax after a while.
You also want to have a wax which you can removed at the end of the day.
My experiments with adding a resin and solvent were, well painfuly unsuccessful.
After reading this I decided to try out baking soda.
It works! I mixed roughly equal quantities of bees wax, coconut fat, and baking soda. And a very small amount of water.
This made a wax with a nice smooth consistently which was easy to apply and dries/hardens/does not melt. So far (8 hrs) has been holding well.
So I would say the baking soda acts as a filler which is also (water) soluble, so can dry and harden a little bit.
Downsides, it was a little bit gritty.
It needs some more experimentation, and I want to try with glycerin.
Overall a fun experiment ????
Log in to reply.