What should the ASM range be for a handwash?

Tagged: active matter, ASM, handwash, Mild

Formulating

What should the ASM range be for a handwash?

Posted by Heath0o7 on April 22, 2024 at 12:22 am

Hi,

I’d like to formulate a mild handwash, but I need some help, please. What should the active surfactant matter range be for a handwash in general? Here’s my formula:

The sample is a 100g Batch size:

Distilled water

1.3% Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride

0.5% LG+

0.3% GLDA

Disodium laureth sulphosuccinate

Coco-glucoside

Caprylyl/capryl glucoside

Phenoxy + EHG

0.5% Fragrance oil

Lactic Acid (pH between 5 to 6)

@OldPerry @Perry44 @Graillotion

Heath0o7 replied 1 week, 2 days ago 4 Members · 9 Replies
9 Replies

CarolineChemist

Member
April 22, 2024 at 10:19 am

~10-15% active surfactant
- Heath0o7
  
  Member
  April 22, 2024 at 10:38 am
  
  Thanks @CarolineChemist
Paprik

Member
April 22, 2024 at 2:17 pm

I would say 10 - 15% ASM is way too high. Hands are small area to clean. 10 - 15% ASM would be used in something like shampoo.

For face and hand products I would aim around 5% ASM. If you use good foaming surfactant it will be just fine and it will not over clean (and dry) the skin.
- Heath0o7
  
  Member
  April 22, 2024 at 9:46 pm
  
  Thank you for the clarification @Paprik
  
  Do you think the combination of Disodium laureth sulphosuccinate (3% active) and caprylyl/capryl glucoside (2% active) would produce a good foam? I’ve decided to only use those two surfactants.
  - Abdullah
    
    Member
    April 23, 2024 at 9:27 am
    
    No it will not and it will be difficult to thicken too.
    - Heath0o7
      
      Member
      April 23, 2024 at 10:09 am
      
      I see, what would you recommend to use @Abdullah I have the following surfactants: decyl, coco, capryl glucoside, CAPB, Disodium cocoamphoacetate, Sodium lauroamphoacetate, SCI, SCG, SLGC, Amine oxide, ALS and AOS.
      - Abdullah
        
        Member
        April 23, 2024 at 8:21 pm
        
        ALS, sci, scg and an amphoteric
  - Paprik
    
    Member
    April 23, 2024 at 1:42 pm
    
    Sulfosuccinates are relatively good at foaming. Just give it a try. It might be just right for hands. You do not need a really excessive amount of foam.
    
    They are hard to thicken, so definitely need a thickener.
    - Heath0o7
      
      Member
      April 24, 2024 at 6:57 am
      
      Just wanted to give you guys an update, I ended up using Disodium laureth sulphosuccinate, Sodium lauroamphoacetate and Caprylyl/capryl glucoside and the formula was actually thick before I added a thickener. I decided to use 0.9% Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride as my thickener and the handwash turned out nice. It’s somewhat foamy, but I don’t mind that as I know I don’t need foam to get rid of dirt. Thanks everyone for your help! 🙂