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Natural Nappy Balm?
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There are several suppliers in the UK. Check naturallythinking. They sell some Euxyl products.
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Unfortunately this supplier lists tocopherol as preservative. Please ignore small suppliers’s classifications.
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Hmm… I’ve had a good look around and there doesn’t seem to be any listings for glyceryl caprylate (and) glyceryl undecylenate. I have found a preservative mix of Caprylhydroxamic acid (and) glyceryl caprylate (and) glycerin, but I’m fully aware that must be an entirely different compound. The only Euxyl product I can find available to me right now consists of sodium benzoate (and) potassium sorbate.
I’m not giving up! Lol. -
The blend is Glyceryl Caprylate (90%) (and) Glyceryl Undecylenate (10%) … since your formula is anhydrous, Glyceryl Caprylate alone would probably be sufficient.
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Oh really? Brilliant. Now to redo the formula then! Thank you so much for everyone’s help so far, I really appreciate you being so patient with me.
With the Glyceryl Caprylate on it’s own, am I still looking at 0.6% in the formula? -
You can add 1% … should be fine. If you want to couple it with Naticide (Sinerga) for belt & suspenders, that’s another option.
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So this is the current thinking, it will likely be a different consistency than the first balm, but I’m ok with that. I just want to make sure there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, that it is safe.
40g Shea butter
22.5g Zinc oxide
19g Coconut oil
10g Açai sterols
7g Grapeseed oil (may change this out altogether for sweet almond oil or castor oil?)
1g Glyceryl Caprylate
0.5g Vitamin E oil -
With castor oil, it will likely become way more tacky and thicker. Since it’s for baby butts and not a face cream, it might be okay and even increase its stick to the skin. Refined almond oil is probably the standard oil in baby/pregnancy skin care though it doesn’t offer that much IMHO. Here around, refined sunflower oil is getting popular because of an allegedly better fatty acid profile. For a better occlusion alternative, peanut oil would be something to consider. On the other hand, your formula will likely be very viscous, even tough to apply before the butters melt; the more liquid grapeseed oil acts as a counter player here.@MarkBroussard: What do you think about adding p-anisic acid (as acid, not sodium salt)? It should result in a better coverage of mould and yeast and, unlike GMCY, actively kill microbes. It might even act as mild disinfectant because diaper eczema are often confronted with microbes such as yeast. -
Yeah I saw that there are worries over oleic acid being detrimental to very young babies’ skin. What would you suggest in order to make it easier to apply? I’m not sure parents would appreciate it being difficult to put on!
I was considering swapping the grapeseed out for something else because of the fact that it spoils quicker, but I suppose that wouldn’t matter so much with the preservative.
Providing that the balm turns out completely cruelty free (which is what I’m aiming for, besides it actually working to sooth soreness), I’m more than grateful for any suggestions!
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First, you have to produce a sample and see how it performs and what could be better, then we can talk about further steps.Formulating cosmetic is a mix of empirical science and (personal) experience. There’s so many factors coming together that it’s virtually impossible to accurately predict a formula. There’s always a chance that a minor difference makes it all flip and behave in an unforeseen manner.Spoilage is already greatly reduced by not using unrefined raw ingredients. I’d say that your current formula has a shelf life (in a tube) of easily 6 months, likely 12 or even more. In the end, it depends on your customer profile, batch size, retailers stocking it etc.
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Ok interesting! I will certainly order the sterols and the preservative and have a play with the formula. Do you lose any goodness through the refining process?
I’ve currently got cosmetic tins made of aluminium, but as that would introduce more water/bacteria etc into the formula during use I presume it would be wiser to use tubes. The consistency would have to be changed a fair bit, the first formula is fairly hard and I don’t suppose it would pass through a tube all that well. I would like at some point to take the nappy cream and the other products in my planned collection into stores, but that it likely a long way off yet! The big idea is to introduce “natural”, cruelty free products at a more reasonable price (in the UK, most of the current “competitors” are still fairly expensive!), so that people like me (those who are disabled/on benefits) can access them, and they can be sure that they’re using good quality products on their children. I want to be proud of what I’m making. -
The oils with the best balanced high lineolic/low oleic acid fatty acid profile are: Prickly Pear Seed Oil, Kalahari Melon Seed Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Rose Hip Oil
The oils that are highest in Lineolic are Sunflower Seed Oil, Safflower Oil.
I would recommend you use Sunflower Seed Oil as it is your least expensive option and accomplishes your objective.
I think you can substantially cut down on your Acai Sterols content (maybe 3% is fine) and you’ll have to play around with your Shea/Coconut/Carrier Oil ratios to get a product viscosity that works in a tube for packaging.
Yes, p-Anisic Acid could be a good preservative compliment.
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Ok perfect! What percentage of p-Anisic Acid should I be sticking to in my formula please? It says 0.005% to 0.05%?
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Unfortunately, refining not only removes dirt, microbes and other impurities but also colour, scent (depending on the degree of refinement, coconut and shea may no longer smell at all!), and most of what you call goodies ;( . That’s the trade-off for a clean, stable, and safe product.p-Anisic acid is used alone and in aqueous systems at up to 0.2%. In your case without water and with glyceryl caprylate, personally, I wouldn’t go above 0.1% but certainly use more than 0.01%. In the end, it all depends…BTW there’s sunflower oil available from high linoleic acid cultivars which is lower in oleic acid (and cultivars the other way round, too).IMHO pots and cans are only for glam and shine whereas good products and even more so products for injured skin come in tubes, (airless) dispensers and the like.
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Ingredient suppliers in the UK:
https://www.naturallythinking.com/ingredients.html
https://www.thesoapkitchen.co.uk/
https://www.gracefruit.com/
https://www.theformulary.co.uk/product-category/active-ingredients/Ingredients suppliers with affordable shipping in EU
https://www.glamourcosmetics.it/gb/
https://www.aliacura.de/Naturallythinking and Aliacura are focused on “natural”. There is also aromazone in France but I haven’t ordered from them. Again, my advice, if you want to make a claim, create a safe and stable conventional product with good performance and add 0.1% of “natural/organic/crueltyfree etc.” ingredient.
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@Pharma oh I see! I think I’ll stick with the unrefined butters and oils.
I actually can’t find anywhere that sells p-Anisic Acid, so I’ll just be using Glyceryl Caprylate. I’ve also found a supply of airless pump dispensers which I think will be much better!@ngarayeva001 ooh thank you so much, that list is really helpful. I hope that I can make a great product with all of your help!
So if I were to melt the butters and oils down, do I add the sterols at the same time, or at the cooldown stage? I presume the preservative is added during cooldown?
I know that I should have the products PET tested after I’ve gotten the formula right, do we know how many other tests are necessary to make sure my product is safe for sale in the UK please?
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Pardon the pun, but this formula is butt simple. Just combine the oils, butters, sterols and preservative. Heat to melt. Once melted, add the Zinc Oxide while stirring continuously @500RPM until the mixture starts to solidify. Pour into containers.
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@MarkBroussard oh amazing! Lol
thank you all so much. Can’t wait to get my extra ingredients so I can try some things out!
I’ll keep you updated <3 -
Many preservatives are sensitive to heat. Check the supplier’s recommendations.
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It won’t work with a dispenser, too thick/firm consistency ;( .
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Actually, there are a number of ways to make the consistency of this concoction such that it can be packaged/dispensed in a tube.
Vary the proportions of the butters/oils, use liquid coconut oil instead of solid coconut oil, for instance Just last evening I made a 22% Zinc Oxide natural sunscreen that I could spray using oils and butters as a base. One only need experiment with proportions to get it right.
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Sprayable 22% zinc oxide, not bad 😮 ! Did you use nanoized or standard ZnO?
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Actually, squirtable is a better description. Does not spray in a mist, but squirts. Still, that’s pushing it through a spray mister. Standard ZnO.
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Cool! Learned something new today, thanks!
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Hey!
all of the new ingredients are on the way, including fractionated coconut oil. So excited to get perfecting the formula. One thing, I did order the pots for the cream in order to be to have my customers send them back for them to be refilled with product and give them a small discount in order to be more environmentally friendly. With everyone’s advice I’ve decided against the pots, but I was wondering if airless dispensers can be hygienically refilled? I presume you can sterilise them and refill them with product, but I just wanted to ask. If not, I’ll likely just order recyclable dispensers. I’ve also enrolled on a short course on the organic skincare business, which includes some biology and chemistry. I’m hoping to take Perry’s formulation course when I can afford it! Fingers crossed.
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