Forum Replies Created

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  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 7:11 pm in reply to: Help with formulation/ stabilization/ emulsification (?)

    Yes, Beaver’s right.

    0.5% hydrosols is nothing. I routinely use 40% aloe vera concentration in skin calming products.
    2% fragrance is way excessive. Your nose is in the middle of your face! I once made this same mistake using 1% fragrance in a face cream. I quickly learned my error.
    And alcohol is nasty for the skin, has a horrible drying effect.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 6:24 pm in reply to: Help with formulation/ stabilization/ emulsification (?)

    1. No. The only way you can achieve a permanent emulsion using mechanical means is via ultrasonics.

    2. You need to take a look at the HLB system.
    And use a proper preservative, not aspen bark.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 6:20 pm in reply to: Problems with sulphate free reformulation

    Update: I took the remainder of the batch down to 10C in the refri and now it all looks not just cloudy, but pearlised! I think I can rescue it by making an equal batch size with 0% CMEA and blending the two. Grrrr.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 3:37 pm in reply to: Problems with sulphate free reformulation

    Aha! My bad! I didn’t realise the difference. It’s cocamide MEA, indeed, Comperlan 100. Thanks Bill. 

  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 2:41 am in reply to: Kyowa and Indena

    For instance. Reading up on some of Indena’s product line I came across horse chestnut bark dry extract. Contains > 20% esculoside. Of course Google always produces a slew of results and I immediately noticed a horse chestnut cream being sold by Celluence, a UK company, for over a hundred quid a pop. 

    Maybe I should call my rep tomorrow?
  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 2:16 am in reply to: Problems with sulphate free reformulation

    I’ve also sent a support query to BASF (makers of Comperlan 100) to see if I can get some advice from them.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 20, 2015 at 2:15 am in reply to: Color difference

    Iron oxide pigments are so strong in colouring power that I suspect it’s simply a measuring problem.

  • I just applied for a sub to Dermatology Times which has some interesting items if you can manage to avoid looking at the images of people with terrible conditions!

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 11:22 pm in reply to: Problems with sulphate free reformulation
    As follows:
    water 65%
    (S Cocoamphoacetate)/coco betaine/AKYPO RLM45 CA equal parts to 27% total
    glycerin/panthenol/EDTA/sodium hydroxide amount to 4% and the NaOH is solely for neutralising the carboxylic acid.
    MEA 1.0% 
    Glucamate VLT 2.5%
    - This (above) stays stable.
    But changing the MEA to 2% and reducing the VLT to 1.5% causes precipitation after about 5 weeks. The MEA is being properly heated and incorporated in a hot phase with high-shear mixing prior to addition of the VLT, which is the final addition.

    It’s really a cost problem I am struggling with. VLT costs around $40 a kilo and MEA only around $8 per kilo. It’s a product we have been successful with for three years now so I don’t want to go pearl and anyway, that would give me yet another variable.
    I can’t get gums here except by importing them cross-border which would defeat the whole purpose for cost reasons again. The only cellulose I can find is PEG-150 distearate which is cheap, true, but not a wonderful thickener because of its temperature sensitivity and short-flow sensorial problems.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 8:11 pm in reply to: Preservatives screening

    Thanks Mark. I found the rep in Mexico and have left a query for them.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 7:30 pm in reply to: Preservatives screening

    The problem, Ruben, is that ONE failure will affect the entire batch and potentially result in your losing the business when words get out. We live in a world of social media. Can you imagine if one of your customers posts an image on social media of one of your products full of colourful fungus?

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 6:01 pm in reply to: Preservatives screening

    Where on earth do you get those test strips? I searched on Google with no results, tried EBay, nothing.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 2:49 pm in reply to: Placenta extract

    Does it work? I haven’t noticed any placenta products in the market.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 6:15 am in reply to: Oil-based Cleanser Surfactant…

    Just a thought. Have never used it myself. Would have to get a sample and try.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 6:09 am in reply to: Tea Tree Oil in ALS formula

    Ah well. I use that combination more or less, except mine is Plantarem APB which also includes ALeS and doesn’t use DEA but instead high-purity DEAL. I do work with TTO and I have been experimenting with it in shampoo between 0.05% and 1%.

    First let me say that the following applies to the blend you’re using in that it’s an anionic shampoo.
    I guess you’re salt thickening since you don’t mention CAPB. With that blend, let me say that I think you’ll find that using CAPB as a thickener will give you a much superior shampoo, you won’t need more than 5% probably, and CAPB is very very cheap and easy to get.
    You don’t mention if you are trying for a clear or are going with pearl. Anyway, in my experience getting a clear with anything more than 0.07% of TTO is not really possible. Even at 0.1% you get translucent.
    1. Be careful with TTO concentration in shampoo type products incl body wash. I had reports of dermatitis type reaction (scaly patches) on my tests at 1% TTO. It is pretty strong stuff. Have you studied the data on the Min E Dose to kill a population in 24h? It is tiny, a lot less than 1%.
    2. TTO is expensive and body washes are an extremely price-competitive market. Plug 1% in to your retail price formula and see the result.
    Well if I haven’t put you off yet, I use it in our frequent use 2-in-1 shampoo but only at a level of 0.07% and even at that level it should have an effect on scalp health, in that it’s a potent antifungal as well as antibacterial. I would suggest using 0.1% and going for a pearled formula.
    Regarding the viscosity problem, yes, it is a really difficult one to work with, but you will find that at 0.1% it is quite manageable, just adjust the test batch with CAPB until you get the right viscosity. I suggest waiting 24h then readjusting as necessary as it seems to drift a little.
    The alternative is to go sulphate free but then your price is out the window straight away.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 19, 2015 at 5:47 am in reply to: Oil-based Cleanser Surfactant…

    Cetiol HE?

  • belassi

    Member
    February 18, 2015 at 10:06 pm in reply to: Preservatives screening

    I can only speak for myself. Fortunately it was early days. A customer came back with a hand cream infested with A. Niger. The whole batch went that way. After that kind of experience you tend to use the maximum permitted level or at least the manufacturer’s recommended level.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 18, 2015 at 7:23 pm in reply to: hair removal

    Surprised not to get any interest in this. I just saw the rep and have arranged for a sample of the active. Product development should begin in a couple of weeks.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 18, 2015 at 5:43 pm in reply to: Hydrogel Pad
    Ingredients
    • Water
    • Glycerol
    • Cross-linked polymer (Sodium AMPS)
    - seems pretty simple. The main thing will be to pick a thickener that’s zero irritation.
  • belassi

    Member
    February 17, 2015 at 10:46 pm in reply to: How to solubilize Emu oil into a clear liquid product?

    Also try combinations with PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate. Personally I suspect the problem is between the alcohol and oil content.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 17, 2015 at 6:47 pm in reply to: Hair Conditioner Stabilty

    I must say that I found conditioner development very difficult. A multitude of ingredients to deal with. I also had viscosity problems in development.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 17, 2015 at 6:05 pm in reply to: How to solubilize Emu oil into a clear liquid product?

    What happens without the alcohol? Try some tests with different % of alcohol.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 17, 2015 at 6:02 pm in reply to: Hair Conditioner Stabilty

    If the viscosity has changed after temperature cycling, then the product isn’t stable in my opinion.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 17, 2015 at 6:01 pm in reply to: Creating new product using an existing product as an ingredient

    I do hope you’re very aware of the safety issues regarding essential oils. The other problem is that if you add much E.O. to an existing emulsion, you may break the emulsion.

  • belassi

    Member
    February 16, 2015 at 7:57 pm in reply to: Cold process

    The upside is ease of production and not needing to spend time in a cool-down phase. The downside is likely to be the increased cost of using a more sophisticated emulsifier system.

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