Toss a little Disodium EDTA in all lotion formulas????

Formulating

Toss a little Disodium EDTA in all lotion formulas????

Posted by Graillotion on April 1, 2020 at 1:20 am

Did not have EDTA on my bench until just this week….working on a very difficult mosquito formula, and hoping this will address some of those issues.

Question is…. now that I have it….should I be tossing this into all formulas…even though they may not have any issues? I tend to be a minimalist….as in…if it is not begging for it….leave it out.

Love to hear your thoughts, and reasons why or why not.

My lotions tend to lean towards the natural side of things.

Note: All formulas start with distilled water.

Pharma replied 4 years, 8 months ago 3 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

ngarayeva001

Member
April 1, 2020 at 9:39 am

Disodium EDTA is chelator that binds metals. Some would argue that if you use deionized water you don’t need it. I would say it’s a preservative booster. I use 0.1-0.2% in all of my formulas (Tetrasodium EDTA in transparent products)
Pharma

Member
April 1, 2020 at 10:48 am

There are always trace metals present, even in oils. Especially when working with natural ingredients, adding a chelate is highly recommendable. As @ngarayeva001 said, chelates boost most preservatives and increase chemical stability as well.

I nearly always use chelates/sequestrants.
ngarayeva001

Member
April 1, 2020 at 12:49 pm

And if you want to stay on a “natural” side, there are materials like gluconolactone that are certified by some bodies. I am not sure if it’s as effective as EDTA though.
Pharma

Member
April 1, 2020 at 1:15 pm

It’s by far not as effective as EDTA especially at pH towards the more acidic side.

Really natural is phytic acid and there’s a bunch of strong chelates which are derived from amino acids and, though synthesised to some extent, are fully and readily biodegradable.

I don’t like EDTA mostly because of poor degradation in nature and its excessive use throughout industries including agriculture.
Graillotion

Member
April 1, 2020 at 7:57 pm

Pharma said:

Really natural is phytic acid and there’s a bunch of strong chelates which are derived from amino acids and, though synthesised to some extent, are fully and readily biodegradable.

Just off the cuff….can you name some of those natural chelates….that I might be able to find from suppliers?

Thank you all for your input.
Pharma

Member
April 2, 2020 at 9:00 am

Here’s some of the more common semi-synthetic amino acid based chelates (don’t know if all are cosmetics approved): EDDS, EDG, GLDA, HIDS, IDS, and MGDA

GLDA (Dissolvine GL) is cosmetics approved, the L-enantiomer is readily degradable, and also very efficient. Depending on the product and pH, it is somewhere between citric acid and EDTA and best used in combination with a small amount of citric acid.

EDDS is the only one which can even by produced by fermentation alone. It is very well suited for slightly acidic products and outshines EDTA there. It is an approved cosmetic ingredient commonly sold as trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate.
Graillotion

Member
April 3, 2020 at 6:51 am

Thank you, Pharma.
Graillotion

Member
April 8, 2020 at 3:24 am

Pharma said:

It’s by far not as effective as EDTA especially at pH towards the more acidic side.

Are you saying…something like Sodium Gluconate is not as effective as a chelator as the EDTA’s?
Pharma

Member
April 8, 2020 at 7:50 am

Gluconate is good for high pH. It’s probably hyped by some… Not saying it’s not worth anything but I wouldn’t bet my money on it.