Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Peel Off Mask

  • Peel Off Mask

    Posted by fatinizzati876 on August 29, 2024 at 8:19 pm

    I’m formulating a peel off mask. In the formula I have PVA 15%, Alcohol 10%, Xanthan gum 1.2%. I run a stability test, and it seems that xanthan gum separate from the system. Can anyone explain to me what might happen? And can anyone suggest me the solution. Thank you

    evchem2 replied 2 months, 3 weeks ago 3 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • evchem2

    Member
    August 30, 2024 at 8:36 am

    Can you explain how you incorporate the ingredients (process and order of addition)? How do you know the xanthan gum is the thing separating out?

    • fatinizzati876

      Member
      September 1, 2024 at 7:21 pm

      first I dispersed xanthan gum, then I heat it up to dissolve PVA. I try to do a base without xanthan gum (just h2O, pva and alcohol) and put it in oven, it seems stable. However, whenever I did a full formulation with xanthan gum, it separate into two layer, upper layer is non clear layer, and the bottom is clear layer. my xanthan gum is not a clear grade. is there something wrong with my process? I truly hope you can help me on this. Thank you 🙂

      • evchem2

        Member
        September 3, 2024 at 9:33 am

        Alcohol may be causing some issue but at 10% I’d think xanthan would still be okay- can you try to make a batch with just the PVA and xanthan (no ethanol) to see if you still observe the separation?

        You are incorporating xanthan and letting it thicken first before adding PVA? That’s what I would have recommended. There are clearly other ingredients in your formula (at least a colorant) so it might be helpful for you to list everything in the formulation.

  • Aishely_Finch

    Member
    September 2, 2024 at 11:17 pm

    The separation of xanthan gum might be due to the alcohol in your formula. Alcohol can reduce the thickening power of xanthan gum, leading to separation.

    To resolve this, consider reducing the alcohol content or using a thickener that works better with alcohol, such as hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC). You could also try mixing the ingredients longer or adjusting the order in which you add them. Testing small changes like these should help you improve stability.

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