Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Thickening shampoo

  • Thickening shampoo

    Posted by Sara21 on February 9, 2024 at 5:33 am

    Hello everyone

    I have a shampoo .

    it’s ingredients are :

    Sodium cocoyl isethionate,

    lauryl glucoside

    , cationic guar ,

    citric acid and Sodium banzoate and potassium sorbat .

    I want to thicken this shampoo what is your suggestion??thanks

    DU.DU replied 2 months, 2 weeks ago 7 Members · 7 Replies
  • 7 Replies
  • CarolineChemist

    Member
    February 9, 2024 at 11:01 am

    What is the use level on the cationic guar? It should be a sufficient thickener ~0.8-1.2% on its own depending on how much water is in your formula. At lower levels it will only condition.

  • DRwrinkleremover

    Member
    February 12, 2024 at 9:03 am

    have you tried rosemary oil instead of shampoo to try and thicken your hair? rice water apparently works aswell

    • Perry44

      Administrator
      February 12, 2024 at 9:29 am

      Rosemary oil?
      Shampoos are meant to clean hair. Putting oil on your hair is exactly the opposite of cleaning hair.

      • Paprik

        Member
        February 12, 2024 at 11:49 am

        I believe DrWrinkle understood that the shampoo should thicken the hair 😀

        Not that Sara is seeking advise how to thicken the shampoo.

  • Perry44

    Administrator
    February 12, 2024 at 9:40 am

    You could also try Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose.

  • Camel

    Member
    February 12, 2024 at 12:17 pm

    I have successfully thickened a shampoo that had Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, and Decyl Glucoside as the surfactants using Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose in the past. I think it would be a great choice for you, and it may also function as a foam booster/stabilizer.

  • DU.DU

    Member
    February 13, 2024 at 7:33 am

    Hai Sara21, I hope I can share a bit frm my experience.

    When formulating a shampoo, usually we need :

    Primary Surfactant

    Secondary Surfactant / Co_Surfactant

    Thickener

    Moisturizer

    Any active Ingredients (depends on the extra benefit we want)

    Preservative

    Fragrance

    From your ingredients,

    Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate acts as a primary surfactant because of its anionic.

    Lauryl Glucoside which is a non-ionic surfactant as the co surfactant.

    Guar as the Moisturizer while it also can provides some thickening properties.

    But, since most of “guar” has a cationic charge, you need to add some “amphoteric surfactant”* like Cocamidopropyl betaine or Lauryl hydroxysultaine or anything else.

    And… you need to know the type of ^guar^ that you use. Generally there was 2 type of Guar. One of it can swell after you add some citric acid or any acid to bring it to its optimum pH.

    If the viscosity still not achieve your goals & you okay with some PEG thickener, you can try to use is as well.

    And do not forget your total surfactant need to be at least around 11 - 13% solid content when you make a shampoo for a good cleansing properties.

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