Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Shampoo Formula

  • Shampoo Formula

    Posted by Cathwong on September 12, 2019 at 7:30 am

    Hi I’m newbie and tried to make shampoo. How can I add lauric acid to my shampoo formula? Because I’ve always failed.
    My formula:
    Guar gum 0.6
    PQ7 0.2
    SLES 16
    CAPB 4
    Pearl conc. 1
    Glycerin 3
    PG 0.5
    Menthol 0.5
    Salicylic acid 0.5
    PEG 40 1.5
    Panthenol 0.5
    Citric and NaOH q.s.
    Preservatives perfume q.s.
    NaCl 1
    Aqua ad 100
    Anything wrong with my formula? Thanks in advance

    Cathwong replied 4 years, 7 months ago 3 Members · 10 Replies
  • 10 Replies
  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    September 12, 2019 at 8:35 am

    - Is it SLES 16% as supplied or 16% of active matter? Same question about CAPB.
    - What is PEG-40? Is it PEG-40 HCO (in that case what is the purpose of it), is it PEG-40 Stearate (what is the purpose?) or some other PEG-40?
    - What is the purpose of salicylic acid?
    - Is your guar gum cationic?
    - What is the purpose of glycerin and propylene glycol in your formula?
    - Why do you want to add lauric acid to your shampoo?

  • Cathwong

    Member
    September 12, 2019 at 8:40 am

    - SLES 16% in formula (I’m using Ecosol 70% SLES; 11.2% active matter)
    - PEG 40 HCO for solubilizing menthol and Salicylic acid
    - Mild Exfoliator
    - Food grade guar gum (Edicol 60-70) dunno the cationic or not
    - Humectant and solubilizer (for guar gum and salicylic acid)
    - Found an article that claims lauric acid promotes hair growh (???)

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    September 12, 2019 at 10:21 am

    You don’t need HCO to solubilise salicylic acid. You can use PG which you already including.
    I don’t recommend using food grade gums in personal care products. They are not made to be aesthetically pleasing. For example the difference between food and cosmetic grade xanthan is enormous.
    Make sure that that article refers to a reliable source. It doesn’t sound like it is.

    Start from a very simple SLES/CAPB water, preservative, NaCl shampoo. Once it works as you want and you are comfortable with formulating it, start adding your claim ingredients. I don’t think you need guar or any other gums in SLES CAPB shampoo. You probably can’t achieve desired viscosity because of menthol and PEG40 HCO. Start simple.

  • Cathwong

    Member
    September 13, 2019 at 2:36 am

    Hello, sorry for the late reply @ngarayeva001
    Actually this is the project for my company, to formulate anti hair loss shampoo, for both men and women. I always thought that men likes menthol containing shampoo because it gives cool sensation. I’ve already tried with only PG to solubilise salicylic acid, but it takes a long time and I don’t plan to add too much PG because of the disadvantages I’ve read. I hope with addition of gums I can achieved my desired viscosity. I’ve tried Carbopol SF1 too but I can’t achieve my desired viscosity (but I can include lauric acid if I use Carbopol).
    It’s not an article, it’s journal. Link: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.ijlpr.com/admin/php/uploads/154_pdf.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwip6Yvm4czkAhURIbcAHUeqAEAQFjAPegQICRAB&usg=AOvVaw11VTucKbgSKn-pyKK-c-7_

  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    September 13, 2019 at 10:54 am

    re:”I always thought that men likes menthol containing shampoo because it gives cool sensation”.
    I actually agree with you but my observation is that it really messes up with the viscosity. The best way to solve your problem is to make a very simple shampoo (SLES/CAPB/Water/Preservative), and start adding your claim ingredients one by one to see what effect they have on the product. My point is, SLES/CAPB is the most used combination and it doesn’t need any gums and polymers to reach pretty high viscosity. Some of your claim ingredients affects it. You need to igure out who is the “criminal”. I suspect PEG-40 HCO and menthol. It’s unlikely PG or sal acid.

  • Cathwong

    Member
    September 14, 2019 at 5:27 am

    @ngarayeva001I also suspect both PEG 40 and menthol affects viscosity. Actually I plan to put more ingredients (hydrolyzed wheat and extract) but so far I’ve got no idea how to fix this. Btw, thanks for your info and idea @ngarayeva001. I wonder how Clear Menthol Shampoo (because it’s the most popular men shampoo in my country and it always gives a very cold feel to hair) always achieve high visco. Is it because Guar HTC?

  • belassi

    Member
    September 14, 2019 at 4:55 pm

    A small % of peppermint EO will give the same sensation.

  • Cathwong

    Member
    September 16, 2019 at 4:10 am

    Yes thankyou @Belassi :) I’ve researched alot about that too, maybe can switch to eo, but at what % it gives the cold feel? And does it affect visco? Thanks. I’ve also considered add Guar HTC, but does it really help? Thanks before.

  • belassi

    Member
    September 16, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    About 0.25%. All EOs affect viscosity.

  • Cathwong

    Member
    September 25, 2019 at 9:07 am

    Ok @Belassi thanks for your kind advice :)

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