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Query on Shampoo formulation
I am intrigued by the following ingredient list on a popular shampoo product. It would appear that the main surfactants are Sodium Cocoate and African Black Soap. The questions in my mind are:
(1) There are a lot of extracts here. My understanding is that the combined maximum percentage of extracts used is generally around 0.5%. Wouldn’t this number of extracts exceed that limit, or is it possible that each is in a minuscule amount?
(2) The last listed ingredients are all essential oils which I assume have a combined concentration of around 1.5%. Would this tend to support the notion that combined percentage of extracts exceeds the 0.5% level?
(3) If my assumption of a combined concentration of 0.5% for all of the extracts is incorrect, what then would be the upper level of the combined concentration of extracts?
*Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Juice, Aqua (Water), *Potassium Shea Butterate And Potassium Palm Kernelate (African Black Soap), Sodium Cocoate (Saponified Coconut Oil), *Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil, *Camelina Sativa (Camelina) Seed Oil, *Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, *Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Oil, *Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, *Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, *Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, *Glycerin, *Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, *Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Extract, *Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, *Nepeta Cataria (Catnip) Extract, *Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Extract, *Rosa Canina (Rose Hips) Extract, *Linum Usitatissimum (Flax) Seed Extract, *Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Extract, *Tilia Americana (Linden) Flower Extract, *Arctium Lappa (Burdock) Root Extract, *Equisetum Arvense (Horsetail) Extract, *Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Extract, *Chamomilla Recutita (Chamomile) Extract, *Panax Ginseng (Ginseng) Extract, *Origanum Vulgare (Oregano) Extract, *Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract, *Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, *Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Extract, *Hydrastis Canadensis (Goldenseal) Extract, *Cinnamomum Cassia (Cinnamon) Extract, *Capsicum Annuum (Cayenne) Extract, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Oil, *Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Oil, *Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Oil. -
14 Replies
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Since the Oils (not the essential oils) are listed before any of the extracts, you can pretty well assume that the quantity of each extract is minuscule since the LOI does not include a solubilizer to get those oils into solution, they are relying solely on the Soaps to do so. You’re not going to get much oil in solution using only the soaps as solubilizers.
When I see a LOI like this it generally indicates that someone did not know what exactly they wanted their product to do so they just threw everything in there that they could think of. Some of those extracts might be includes at 0.1% or less.
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Hope you copied and pasted that list and did not laboriously type it out yourself.
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Since the extracts do nothing other than look pretty on the label, my educated guess is that the combined total of all the extracts and oils is below 0.01%.
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No @johnb did not type this out……used cut & paste !!!
Yes agreed @Bobzchemist it’s a “pretty” list, but having said that, am using this shampoo and it suits my hair well. I guess the “pretty” bit allows the brand to jack up the price.
Thanks for the comments……
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I am surprised that you find a “real” soap based shampoo acceptable. Do you have a very soft water supply that avoids scum precipitation?
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@johnb over the past week I have used the shampoo in Australia and Malaysia and good in both locations. No sign of scum precipitation. The Malaysian supply is probably reasonably soft, but not the Oz water, although it would not be in the very “hard” water category.
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The number of extracts listed is no indication of how much is in there. You can ask a supplier to give you a blend of X number of extracts. You put a drop in your formula and you get to list all the ingredients.
But this isn’t a proper INCI ingredient list so you can’t really tell anything about the formula from it. They could simply just list names of ingredients they want and not even add it.
Companies with ingredient lists like this really annoy me.
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@Perry why do you say “….this isn’t a proper INCI ingredient list” ?
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Because it is not. There are a number of errors.
1. The first ingredient should be Water. Aloe Vera Leaf juice is mostly water and you are supposed to list ingredients based on their composition not based on how much of the raw material you put in the formula.
2. Potassium Shea Butterate And Potassium Palm Kernelate (African Black Soap) is not a proper INCI name.
3. Sodium Cocoate (Saponified Coconut Oil) - the (saponified coconut oil) doesn’t belong in the name.
4. The asterisks do not belong in the ingredient list. That doesn’t follow the proper INCI listing.
Here are the rules that people are supposed to follow.
http://webdictionary.personalcarecouncil.org/ctfa-static/online/FrontMatter_Vol1%20Edited%20for%20Websites.pdfThis ingredient list is just wrong.
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Point take @Perry on INCI. However, re your point:
“The first ingredient should be Water. Aloe Vera Leaf juice is mostly water and you are supposed to list ingredients based on their composition not based on how much of the raw material you put in the formula.”
It looks as if a number of oils have been saponified here (listed as Sodium Cocoate etc etc., but if liquid I think it should be Potassium Cocoate). I assume that any water used here would be consumed in the saponification reaction and therefore not listed as “water.”
Generally, for these saponified liquid products, once the soap paste is produced, the dilution is larger than the volume of the paste. If the Aloe Vera Leaf juice is made by dissolving powdered Aloe Vera in water, then shouldn’t this be listed as Aloe Vera Leaf juice first?
Also, your comment “The asterisks do not belong in the ingredient list. That doesn’t follow the proper INCI listing,” again, point taken. But this is a very common practice I see on many labels. Do you have an alternative suggestion?
@Perry your thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks.
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On asterisks - Alternative suggestion, don’t use them. Don’t use your ingredient list for marketing your product. That is not the purpose. Do your marketing in the label copy not in your ingredient list. The fact that it is commonly done doesn’t mean it should be done. It is against the rules and undermines the credibility of the entire industry.
On saponification - The point of the ingredient list is to list the chemicals that are in the final product. If you put two ingredients in your formula and they chemically react to form a new ingredient, you should list the resulting ingredient. If the reaction isn’t complete you should list the two starting ingredients too. If the reaction is complete, then you can simply list the final ingredient. So, for a saponification reaction you would list the oil, the base and the resulting soap.
On Aloe - Aloe powder dissolved in water is still going to be mostly water. So water should be the first ingredient. If you could simply take a powder, dissolve it in water, then list whatever powder ingredient you want first (call it a juice) then water would never have to be the first ingredient. Does it make sense to take 1 gram of aloe powder, dissolve it in 99 grams of water and say it’s Aloe Juice? No, it’s water. Companies who do this are either ignorant of the rules or being purposefully misleading.
“3. Solvents and Diluents - Solvents and diluents in raw materials, such as surfactants, polymers, and resins, are not always identified as part of the INCI name (see F. Nomenclature Conventions, Rule 32). However, diluents and/or solvents must be listed on the finished product package label in their proper order of predominance with respect to all other ingredients in the formulation. Information on the concentration of solvents and/or diluents contained in such raw materials must be obtained by the marketing company from the supplier.
4. Extracts - The INCI names for extracts represent the “material extracted” (see F. Nomenclature Conventions, Rule 32). Many extracts are supplied with the extracting solvent and/or other diluents. The solvents and/or diluents in extracts must be listed in their proper order of predominance, along with all other ingredients in the formulation, on the package label. The solvents and/or diluents in a specific extract may be found under its trade name in Section 6, Technical/Trade Names/ INCI Names. Information on the concentration of solvents and/or diluents in a specific extract must be obtained by the marketing company from the supplier. “Relevant INCI rules: https://www.evernote.com/shard/s1/res/80437449-ee90-4f7b-ab93-3eacbe7480de
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Thanks @Perry ……some things to think about, plus your comments raise a few other queries.
I think the point on asterisks is very valid, and must admit have been guilty myself on this one.
Isn’t there a contradiction here:
“On saponification - The point of the ingredient list is to list the chemicals that are in the final product. If you put two ingredients in your formula and they chemically react to form a new ingredient, you should list the resulting ingredient. If the reaction isn’t complete you should list the two starting ingredients too. If the reaction is complete, then you can simply list the final ingredient. So, for a saponification reaction you would list the oil, the base and the resulting soap.”
If we saponify coconut oil with KOH, then what is in the final product (assuming saponification is complete) is Potassium Cocoate. Why then do you state “So, for a saponification reaction you would list the oil, the base and the resulting soap” but also say ” If you put two ingredients in your formula and they chemically react to form a new ingredient, you should list the resulting ingredient” ?? -
Great question.
This gets to be a bit of a gray area. Technically, no chemical reaction is ever complete. There are always some residual, unreacted, starting materials.
This is why people complain about the lack of listing 1,4 Dioxane when a product uses ethoxylated surfactants. There will always be some small level of unreacted 1,4 dioxane. Manufacturers will say that the level is so small it should be ignored. The INCI support that position.
My assumption is that the saponification reaction isn’t complete enough so it would be ok to list the oil, base and resulting soap. But it also seems reasonable to only include the soap in your ingredient list. What doesn’t seem reasonable is if you include only the starting materials and not the name of the soap.
There is no specific guideline that tells you at what concentration a residual ingredient has to be for it to be included on your list of ingredients.
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@Perry for what it’s worth, regarding 1,4-dioxane, Article 19 of the European cosmetics regs is also very clear on the matter:
“For the purpose of this Article, an ingredient means any substance or mixture intentionally used (…) during the process of manufacturing. The following shall not, however, be regarded as ingredients:
(i) impurities in the raw materials used;
(ii) subsidiary technical materials used in the mixture but not present in the final product.”
therefore, 1,4-dioxane is not listed because it’s an impurity
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