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Preservative Help - Quickly glance at my conditioner formula?
Hi there,
I’ve begun dabbling in a very basic conditioner formula, formulated within ECOCert constraints. Could you please tell me what you think of the preservative use? Thank you in advance!Behentrimonium Chloride 1%
Cetyl Alcohol 2.5%Cocoa Butter 1% Glycerin 2.00% Benzyl Alcohol + Dehydroacetic Acid 0.20% Potassium Sorbate 0.10% Water Citric acid -
13 Replies
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@PhilGeis I would love to summon your expertise, if possible! You were super helpful with all the shampoo formulations! Thank you in advance.
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pH ?
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@PhilGeis PH 5.5 for the conditioner.
Hi Phil! I’m thrilled you actually responded! I thought it might be a long shot haha.
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Your biggest issue is with Gram negatives. Wish you could use isothiazolinones - failing that phenoxyethanol or benzyl alcohol at ~0.5%. Don’t see too much purpose in multiple organic acids - DHA has the most favorable pKa but I worry about stability. Think you also need a chelator - EDTA, phytate.
What kind of process and package? -
It’s going to be heated process and plastic bottle.
Here’s a formula that a supplier provided which I modelled mine after but they mention only using Potassium Sorbate as the only preservative. How is that possibly adequate?A Deionized Water Water 85.9 %
Cetyl Alcohol + Behentrimonium Chloride +
Sorbitan Laurate
6.0%Coconut Oil Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil 3.0%
Grapeseed Oil Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil 2
% DL Panthenol Panthenol 0.1%
Mixed Tocopherols
95
Tocopherol 0.1 %
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein 1.5%
Glycerin & Citric Acid & Lactic
Acid & Ascorbic Acid
1.0%
Potassium Sorbate Potassium Sorbate 0.1%NaOH adjust pH to 4.5 – 5.5
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Sorbate alone is not useful and 0.1% is stupid.
Plastic - polyethylene? flip top or screw off?
Heat - how high and is it packed out hot/warm? -
So in addition to the .1% KSorbate, they use Glycerin & Citric Acid & Lactic Acid & Ascorbic Acid 1.0% as the additional preservative. I know you said organic acids might not make sense but altogether, this is the hurdle tech they recommend. It’s a pretty big supplier! Screw off top * packed out warm
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Sorbate is so weak and the others are 100% useless as “preservatives”. This is not hurdle - it’s total BS.
Maybe they found this passed USP 51 - hardly a recommendation. One needs to design a system that should work and confirm efficacy with 51. 51 by itself is not a valid test for efficacy.
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@PhilGeis Can the cationic surfactant in conditioner be relied on for anti-microbial? If yes, what should the concentration and pH be?
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zetein said:@PhilGeis Can the cationic surfactant in conditioner be relied on for anti-microbial? If yes, what should the concentration and pH be?
Nope tho some might have a small effect, none adequately preserve. Note Downy and others with enough cationic to work through the wash still need preservatives.
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PhilGeis said:Sorbate alone is not useful and 0.1% is stupid.
Plastic - polyethylene? flip top or screw off?
Heat - how high and is it packed out hot/warm?@p@PhilGeis by “is it packed out hot/warm?”, Did you mean if it is hot or warm when putting in final package?
If so, what is the effect of that on preservative?
Also what is the effect of pet and HDPE plastic on preservative?
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Heat in process lowers manufacturing risk.
Closure can contribute to/mitigate risk in use. https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/aem.56.5.1476-1479.1990
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PhilGeis said:Heat in process lowers manufacturing risk.
Closure can contribute to/mitigate risk in use. https://journals.asm.org/doi/abs/10.1128/aem.56.5.1476-1479.1990
Very informative. Thanks.
Does plastic type also have any effect?
PET vs HDPEAlso heat up to what degree minimum is beneficial?
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