Members Directory - Chemists Corner

Anca_Formulator

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July 25, 2022 at 1:24 am in reply to: Why did acacia gum turn my flax seed gel grey?

@Farah Here’s a video on five ways to disperse gums without clumping. I found this helpful

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMbR4tPN3Sw

Anca_Formulator

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July 22, 2022 at 11:39 pm in reply to: Would this be enough?

@Newtoformulating: It depends on what else is in your formula and the pH…

Anca_Formulator

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July 22, 2022 at 9:25 pm in reply to: Natural Gels - from ugly Betty to glamorous

@Farah Well put. I love it, “Good synthetic trumps bad natural”

Anca_Formulator

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July 22, 2022 at 8:58 pm in reply to: Natural Gels - from ugly Betty to glamorous

@Fekher @chemicalmatt @MarkBroussard @Pharma Thank you, I hear you!

You said it @MarkBroussard: Ugly Betty is as pretty as natural gets.

Here’s something I’ve been considering more and more: as close to 100% naturally derived my formulations strive to be, I don’t want to be so very rigid. I want my consumer to fully delight in the product.
It’s funny how habitual and blind my insistence has been on naturals only, but when I did deeper I start running into, “so what if it’s not 100% natural?” What’s the tragedy?

My guess is that if a consumer was given a choice between 100% natural Ugly Betty and 95% natural but glamorous, most would chose the latter…Yes, I might lose a few, but so what?

I’m willing to sacrifice a bit of % for that. I’m already a sell-out when it comes to preservatives…

So I will give polymerics a shot after all! Once again, thank you for helping me relax a bit!

@Fekher sorry for getting a bit gruffy when you challenged me on naturals only

Anca_Formulator

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July 22, 2022 at 5:46 pm in reply to: Your safety responsibility

@PhilGeis: Thank you

Anca_Formulator

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July 21, 2022 at 9:35 pm in reply to: Natural Gels - from ugly Betty to glamorous

@fekher I agree that safety and functionality are critical, but looking for natural materials is not a fake problem if you are a natural formulator and your market is the natural market…

Anca_Formulator

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July 21, 2022 at 5:18 pm in reply to: Natural Ingredient expiration & Product Shelf-life

@PhilGeis Thank you for the explanation, I’m still a bit confused though.Sorry for dragging this on.

So lets say I want to use a water-soluble extract past the shelf-life the supplier listed in a product and it might be starting to show some microbial contamination, is an effective preservative system for the whole product supposed to take care of that? Isn’t that like fighting with an arm tied behind its back?

I go to great lengths to sanitize my lab utensils, beakers etc. I also clean bottles received from the supplier with rubbing alcohol (pretty time consuming a pain in the butt really), for fear of not overburdening the preservative. Is that not necessary then?

Thank you.

Anca_Formulator

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July 21, 2022 at 12:01 am in reply to: Natural Ingredient expiration & Product Shelf-life

@Perry: Thank you!

Anca_Formulator

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July 20, 2022 at 11:56 pm in reply to: Natural Ingredient expiration & Product Shelf-life

@PhilGeis: I’m so glad you asked the question. On the COA, there is a Re-test date. For some reason in my mind I’ve been equating that with ‘expiration’ this whole time, which is not what it actually says!

But to answer your question, when I think of expiration I usually think of oxidation for oils, and microbial/yeast/mold issues for water-based products. When it comes to emulsifiers and fatty alcohols, I’ve been given them a ‘pass’ for quite some time after their listed shelf-life (different term than re-test), rightly or wrongly. However I have not done any A/B testing b4 and after their supposed shelf life yet, so I can’t support my ‘pass’ with evidence.

Anca_Formulator

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July 18, 2022 at 7:13 pm in reply to: Butter in gel moisturizer

@Paprik That sounds like a lot of practice, which is good ;-) .

Anca_Formulator

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July 18, 2022 at 1:22 am in reply to: The 1% Labeling Rule: A License To Deceive?

What about ‘blends? How do they get listed correctly?

Take Fision Hydrate from Lotioncrafter for example (INCI:Sodium PCA, Wheat Amino Acids , Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate and Hydroxyproline). They say it’s a ‘unique’ proportion. Let’s say it’s used at 5% in a formula. Do you then use the SDS in order to list the components in the correct order?

Look at this SDS! If you want to skew consumer perception you can just add a blend like this and there you have lots of humectants to list and get to brag about.

As an aside, does this do ANYTHING at these %?

Some mixes you buy have ranges that are even more vague than this. How do you even figure out where to put these ingredients?

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 11:45 pm in reply to: Help ! 3 in 1 formula

Hi @Miassa It would be helpful to include the INCI names for your ingredients, such as Plantapon, Lamesoft OD, Dehyton ab.

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 11:28 pm in reply to: Butter in gel moisturizer

Thank you @paprik. I recall you took some training from IPCS, did you make these types of ‘funky’ products as part of the program, or afterwards?

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 11:20 pm in reply to: Natural Ingredient expiration & Product Shelf-life

Thank you @PhilGeis

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 9:09 pm in reply to: The 1% Labeling Rule: A License To Deceive?

@Graillotion Interesting point about protecting IP. What kind of valuable IP might be under 1% ?

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 6:19 pm in reply to: Butter in gel moisturizer

@MarkBroussard: That’s helpful to know. These ‘unusual’ textures are intriguing to me, but maybe there is a good (stability) reason there are not a lot of them out there.
Acticire is used here in a different way that supplier recommends, i.e. up to 5% Acticire can incorporate up to 15% water soluble ingredients. This product is almost 80% water.

What are some unique textures you have seen in the natural world? I mean ones that work ;-)

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 6:13 pm in reply to: How can this company’s tagline be “organic beauty”?

You wouldn’t believe it… they are part of B-Corp???!!

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 4:09 pm in reply to: Butter in gel moisturizer

Unfortunately the formula is not included in the video but you can request it from IPCS. I’m not sure it’s ok to share it here, so I will just say that the ‘magic’ ingredient here is Acticire MB ((Jojoba Esters (and) Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Wax (and) Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax (and) Polyglycerin-3) at 6%.

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 2:08 pm in reply to: Natural Ingredient expiration & Product Shelf-life

I really appreciate your explanations. So importat to know this stuff.

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 2:04 pm in reply to: Esters, Polarity, Compatibility, Miscibility

@Pharma: Thank you so much for a great explanation.

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 5:59 am in reply to: Looking for preservative? This post is for you

Thank you for sharing this info.

Anca_Formulator

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July 17, 2022 at 5:43 am in reply to: How can this company’s tagline be “organic beauty”?

The alkyl acrylate crosspolymer usage rate I think is 0.2 -3%, and caprylic/capric triglyceride and maltodextrin copolymer are “naturally-derived” so the formula is ‘mostly’ natural, depending on your shade of natural. But if the company tagline is organic beauty, IMHO that is quite misleading.