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ngarayeva001 said:

Put it in the fridge and use within 48 hours and you don’t need a preservative. Basically treat it as food with very short shelf life (such as fresh fish). Conditioner without preservative shows visible signs of contamination (mold) on 5th day when stored at room temperature in a humid climate (result of multiple experiments). Another option is to make an anhydrous conditioning bar. No water - no preservative. There are some caveats, since it’s stored in the bathroom you still need a preservative unless you are going to dry it properly after each use.

My big question is, will fungus/mold/bacteria grow on my hair if i use a leave in and there is no preservative in it? Or will that not matter if it dries on my hair?

Thanks!

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ngarayeva001 said:

Put it in the fridge and use within 48 hours and you don’t need a preservative. Basically treat it as food with very short shelf life (such as fresh fish). Conditioner without preservative shows visible signs of contamination (mold) on 5th day when stored at room temperature in a humid climate (result of multiple experiments). Another option is to make an anhydrous conditioning bar. No water - no preservative. There are some caveats, since it’s stored in the bathroom you still need a preservative unless you are going to dry it properly after each use.

Thank you 

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Belassi said:

Well, that is a difficult sort of question. It depends how long you make it before use, and so on. Of course, the downside is that you will come to resemble Shaun of the Living Dead.

I’m confused about the living dead reference, please explain!

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Perry said:

How did you become convinced that Phenoxyethanol is causing the problems?

It’s a guess. Next batch I make I’ll see if taking out the preservative makes a difference. Thoughts?

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Microformulation said:

You really need to consider the proper grade of Stainless Steel. Processing equipment is usually SS 316 grade.

Thanks for the reply. I am confused, Are you saying my stick blender is not stainless steel? 

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Doreen said:

I don’t know if it’s mentioned, but maybe it’s an idea to tightly cover your Pyrex beaker with simple plastic foil and leave a small opening to put the stick blender attachment through?

Ooh that’s a good idea! Have you tried it and it has worked?

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Margreat said:

Hold the blender at roughly 45 degrees. 

Sounds like the blender or the blade is pulling air into your emulsion. That’ll make it unstable. I learned this through many lotion failures ?.

Also,  moving the blender up & down in your mixing vessel can pull air into what you’re mixing ☹️.

I would probably make 3 batches of the same thing one day, and use the stick blender at DIFFERENT speeds, but for the exact same length of total mix  time. 

If you have different blades, that’ll be yet another comparison trial you’ll have to do, same day, same formula, same mass, etc.  

Mix your lotions (or whatever) in the same sort of container, like 500 mls. canning jars  so that you can SEE  if there is a difference in the resulting height of your lotion.  Make sure you label your jars according to the speed setting you used for THAT sample, ja? 

The lotion that is probably going to be the most stable in your trial is the one that has the least volume (height) in your jar. The speed & blade that was used for THAT lotion sample is the one that will most likely be the best for that formula.

I went through this issue too until I settled on the proper attachment for my stick blender by doing the above, and noticing which bladed yielded a NON-FLUFFY lotion (I only use what’s known as the standard cutting blade) AND the proper stick blender (A minipro by Dynamic. Made in France). 

After I figured out which blade to use, and the best speed to use, and for how long to mix, all has been ‘golden’ regarding MY emulsions. 

THank you for your thorough suggestions! So you are saying, a reason it could be foamy is the height of the jar is too high? Now that I think about it, In the past I was using a 2 cup mason jar and it was not foamy but the problem is the formulation splashed out of the jar when I stirred. How can I prevent this?

I have been using the 3.5 cup mason jar to stir my mixture for the past two weeks and it has been foamy.. so maybe it is the jar! The good thing about the higher jar is now the liquid is not splashing out of the jar… ughhh… suggestions? Thank you!