[Aniela]

IFRA Conformity Certificate should be issued by your supplier when buying essential oils & fragrances: it contains the %s allowed for each category of products, from baby care to household products.

Regarding the use of limonene, as you’ve noticed, they’ve used it for cleansing purposes (I use 10-15% in a dishwashing paste).

The comment “… I’ve seen an allergen intentionally added as a pure substance in a cosmetic formula, as an ingredient itself” is a bit too much: they used a chemical they considered fit for the product, they didn’t purposefully looked for an allergen and decided to try their luck.

To clear your confussion, here’s an extract from the IFRA Certificate of sweet orange essential oil, which contains 70-90% limonene.

[Aniela]

Hi,

Although old, this article will answer some of your questions https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7245492/

[Aniela]

…and this is where math and the author’s thinking (the author of your quote) might collide:

A ratio of 100:15 is greater than a ratio of 100:20, again, mathematically speaking. Increasing monoethanolide, you’ll get smaller and smaller ratios, whereas increasing the detergent solution, you’ll get greater ratios.

@Adamnfineman might be right, if the author used a poor choice of words to explain himself.

[Aniela]

Oops, the right phrase is “The recommended dosage of LABSA 96% in household detergents is 5.0%-25.0%.”.

[Aniela]

Hi,

Just googled LABSA as I’m not familiar with it, and found two things you seem to disregard in your formula: 1. “Incompatible with bases, metals, and oxidizing agents.”, and 2. “The recommended dosage of LABSA 96% in household detergents is <strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(-bb-body-text-color);”>5.0%-25.0%.”.

[Aniela]

The 40% natural oils won’t help the product to feel “ultra light”. Cutting those down to max 20% (providing they are light, not rich) and adding 65-70% of cyclomethicone or isododecane or LuxGlide N5, plus around 10% of C12-15 or hemisqualane will give you a good hair product.

[Aniela]

Hello,

My supplier sells water soluble fragrances which come under the INCI parfum/aroma. They come with IFRA certificates and Declarations of Allergens, so one can decide if using or not.

They are alcohol based, and I’ve used three of them (melon, mango, strawberry) in face cleansers, shower gels and shampoos for the family. The scent doesn’t/didn’t fade over time- I’ve kept samples and checked that. The children used the products as well, and no skin-issues apperead.

I assume there are fewer of these on the market for two reasons: the oil-based ones are more versatile (most of them can be used also in candles, soap, etc), and the fear many formulators have regarding the use of alcohol in cosmetic products, no matter the %.

[Aniela]

Hi,

1. This post will help https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/cationic-emulsion-system-questions-for-lotion/

2. No idea.

3. No idea either, as I don’t use them in skin moisturizers.

[Aniela]

You can try here https://www.myskinrecipes.com/shop/en/natural-gum-thickener/1282-dehydroxanthan-gum.html and they might have the other products you’re looking for. They do ship internationally.

[Aniela]

Hi,

1. According to most of the sources out there, the ASM for a body wash should be 15-20%- no idea about the “ideal” ASM. As a side note, I do not go over 15% in my personal body wash.

2. I’d say that using too much Coco-Betaine can pose some irritation risks, as it’s more stripping than CAPB. Regarding the foaming issue, your question is a bit confusing, as it’s supposed to be a foam-booster. Are you sure that is not something else in your formula that decreases the foam? Glycerin? Oils?

[Aniela]

Hello,

Whereas I still have some way to go till I can call myself an experienced formulator, I do have experience in working with people.

It seems the conundrum is maintaining your reputation vs condoning such requests.

I think you can do both, as long as your client knows that you do not agree with the team’s opinion.

You’ve made clear you view from the scientific point, so now you can let them choose some “fancy” ingredient(s), providing that they’ll also use the known performing ingredients you’ve recommended.

I’m sure they’ll come around after they’ll gain more knowledge and experience. We all grow at a different pace, right?

Regarding the higher cost of the “fancy” stuff: I’ve fallen in the cost-trap as I’ve used to look for the most cost-efficient solution, and I’ve learnt that my role was just to guide and make my comments, as the decision was theirs. Learnt that the hard way, after one client bluntly asked me “Did I appoint you to guard my money, Miss?”- nope, he obviously didn’t…

Finally, there’s only that much you can do once they have already set their minds on something else than your suggestion.

[Aniela]

Hi,

While I know nothing about brazilian treatment, and how should one take care of such a treated hair, I did find out from listening to The Beauty Brains podcast (Perry&Valerie) that decyl glucoside is a pretty poor choice in shampoos- hence the dry hair you’ve mentioned.

Regarding the use of polyquats, here’s an article written by Perry last year which can help you choosing the right one: https://www.ulprospector.com/knowledge/14571/pcc-polyquaterniums-in-cosmetic-formulas/#:~:text=Polyquaternium%2D7%3A%20Commonly%20used%20in,static%20and%20moisture%2Dretaining%20properties.

• This reply was modified 2 months, 1 week ago by  Aniela.

[Aniela]

Hi,

1. Clay masks are notoriously difficult to preserve, and I highly doubt that geogard+TGDA will do the job. On top of that, you have hydrosol in there plus some other plant extracts, and all of these contain yummy bug-food. If cupuacu it’s unrefined, it also contains some bug-food.

2. Regarding the change of colour, it occurs usually with any plant-powder, it’s not a matcha-related issue. Most of the powder-solutions (water) will have a beautiful colour at a very acidic and/or alkaline pH, but will become “ugly” at a skin-friendly pH- for example, hibiscus turns gray. Also light and heat can further affect the colour.

3. Cupuacu is a fairly stable butter, so no need to add tocopherol, and increase your cost.

[Aniela]

Hi,

Not sure how this helps but the ingredients are listed in this order: Water, Cetyl alcohol, Propylene glycol, Sodium lauryl sulfate, Stearyl alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, thus SLS might be/is at >1%.

[Aniela]

Any idea what’s the answer to my question, please?

• This reply was modified 1 month ago by  Aniela.

[Aniela]

All good, no issues😇

[Aniela]

Thank you for pointing that out: I admit I didn’t think about storage.

[Aniela]

Considering that they use Castile Soap, I assume you might turn the mix into a thick paste. Although, I wouldn’t use soap as a binder or foamer- but to each it’s own.

[Aniela]

Thank you.

[Aniela]

Hello @chemicalmatt ,

and thank you @Abdullah for making my question possible.

I’m not a chemist, therefore your help is much appreciated: after reading the article, my take is I’ll be better off (stability-wise) if using cetearyl alcohol instead of only cetyl alcohol.

Is that right, or it largely depends on the emulsifier used?

Thank you.

[Aniela]

I think your list is right (proof that my common sense can be wrong😳), as the new version lists the SCI in the <1% section- Aqua, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Panthenol, Niacinamide, Pantolactone, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid.

[Aniela]

Here https://incidecoder.com/products/cetaphil-cleansing-milk and here https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/cetaphil-gentle-skin-facial-cleanser-old-formula

Maybe not your “go-to” sources, but to me, it makes more sense their lists.

[Aniela]

Can’t promise, but I’ll try- “old school” education doesn’t die easy.

[Aniela]

Thank you, Dr Geis, I agree- I was just giving more details to make it clear why they introduced the ingredient in the formula, as I was asking for a substitute suggestion.

As for the preservative system, I’m going to use PE9010, sodium benzoate, and TGDA.

[Aniela]

It is just an attempt to a cream-deo🙂

I will del the Decalact and raise the Zn ricinoleate to 2% and see how that performs.

Currently I’m using a gel-deo which contains 3% potassium alum and 4% triethyl citrate- it performs pretty well.

If I’m not aiming for an antiperspirant, is it any other ingredient I should look for, please?

Thank you.