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Water Based Pomade Formulating Time
Anybody willing to share their pomade formulating time? Meaning, how long do you mix each part for (water & oil part), how long do you keep it at 85-90 degrees celsius for before cooling down, how do you cool it down slowly? fast? etc.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
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9 Replies
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There are too many variables to allow for a prescribed “formulating time.” These variables include the ingredients themselves and the ambient conditions in your production area.
The best approach, and what I did back in 2006 when I started to produce Pomades, was to set up an Excel spreadsheet including all the variables, and then start experimenting and recording results.
It will soon become evident what works. And an often forgotten parameter is how the pomade behaves over time, including shelf life data. An added parameter for me, as I was shipping globally, was how the pomade survived various shipping temperatures. With the destinations I was shipping to, this included passing through various hot and cold temperature zones.
Good luck.
Dr Mike Thair
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This reply was modified 1 month ago by mikethair.
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Hi Mike, thanks for the advice and the strategies to determine what will work best. I will document everything and try to get it dialed in.
Thank you!
-Johnny B.
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This reply was modified 1 month ago by
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Are you making this at home for yourself or are you making production batches to sell commercially? If it’s the latter, what would be your expected batch size?
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Hi Adam,
This is for myself. Right now I am doing 100g batches with little adjustments made in the percentage based on the outcome. The problem is that I get something that I like but then I try to duplicate it and the consistency changes. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Here is my 100g formula.
——-WATER – 60%
PVP- 2%
GLYCERIN – 2%
——-
C-25 – 25%
PROPYLENE GLYCOL – 3%
PEG-7 GLYCERYL COCOATE – 4%
———
FRAGRANCE – 1%
EUXYL K900 – 1%
Peg-40 – 2%
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
-Johnny B.
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Hi Johnny,
I’ve found that when making small batches of ceteareth-25 based pomades evaporation is your enemy. When I make hot process batches on the bench I usually add 5% extra water to counteract it. But with pomades like this I add anywhere from 7-10% more water because of the temperature required to melt the C-25. I would also recommend increasing you batch size so that the amount of water lost relative to your batch size is less impactful and you can get a more consistent product.
Coincidentally, I just made 5 batches of almost the exact same formula today (a few more claim ingredients and another fixative added). Each has a different fragrance and are being sent out for client evaluation. How do you feel about your level of fragrance? We’re using 0.35% so depending on the scent, yours might be a bit high for some.
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Thanks so much for the advice! I will try a bigger batch and see if that makes a difference. I never thought about water loss due to evaporation in small amounts.
Yeah, the fragrance is a little strong. I plan to reduce it to .5 and see if it gets more subtle.
Thank you!
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You’re very welcome. I realized that I didn’t address your original questions. As Dr. Thair said, there are too many variables to give a concrete set of instructions. Instead, I’ll describe the process I used last week.
I heated up the water and oil phases separately to 85-90°C. The oil phase generally gets into the temperature range first; I let it hit 90° then maintained temperature. As soon as the water reached 85°, I added the oil phase to the water phase slowly. The heating time varies depending on which hot plate I use. After blending the phases, I checked the temperature probe and propeller for any stuck solids, once everything seemed visually homogenous I turned off the heat and began cooling slowly while still on the hot plate.
I’d estimate around 10 minutes of mixing after adding the oil phase for a 200g batch before I began cooling, maybe more if there were solids that needed to be melted. The mixing speed should be high enough to bring material from the surface to the bottom, but not enough to create a vortex and entrap air. Once the temperature reached 70°, I added the premixed solublizer/fragrance/preservatives which usually dropped my temperature to 60-65°. I’ll mix for a minute or three then hot pour around 60°. A couple minutes after pouring I skimmed the surface of the product with a metal spatula to remove that layer of bubbles. The last step isn’t necessary but it gives the product a cleaner look for clients. I’d estimate the time from start to finish to be about an hour.
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This reply was modified 1 month ago by Adamnfineman. Reason: Typo
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Hi Adam,
That is extremely helpful to me. I really appreciate the details into your process and overall time. I do heat the water and oil phase to 85 celsius before adding the oil phase to the water phase. I really do think the issue I am having is the water loss due to evaporation with my small batch size. I am going to do some larger trials and see if I can get the outcome I am looking for. Have a great day!
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Good morning Johnny,
I’m glad I could help. Keep us posted on how your new batches turn out.
Thanks! I hope you had a good weekend.
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This reply was modified 1 month ago by
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