Bobzchemist
Forum Replies Created
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5-10 gallons?!?
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On the other hand, I once went on a job interview where the only equipment in the lab was an ancient overhead stirrer, a hot plate, and a kitchen balance in a room the size of a small closet. I didn’t take that job - making do on a small budget is one thing, masochism is another.
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Honestly, even though I’d appreciate the business (and I’ve designed several labs), I think you’d be better off (and have a happier chemist) if you involved them in at least some of the design and equipment choices.
No matter how you choose to proceed, however, your first task is to determine the budget for the lab. There are tax implications, so in most cases, the budget for the physical structure (room, lab furniture, fume hoods, etc.) is seperate from the lab equipment budget and the consumables budget.
I’ve seen labs put together for about $2,000 and labs that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and many in-between…and some of the most innovative products have come from low-budget labs. The quality of the chemist you hire is much more important than the quality of the lab.
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Like a lot of things, you can put in the time to find out yourself, or you can hire a consultant. Free information is sometimes worth only what you’ve paid for it.
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I like coil impellers for a number of reasons, not least of which is that it’s difficult to break a glass beaker with one, no matter how fast it’s going.
https://www.thomassci.com/Equipment/Overhead-Stirrers/_/2f648f8a-e711-40ad-8146-ce7cfb41744d
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What I described is the highest level of method validation, as I’ve had it explained to me, in the context of “why does this cost so much?” How much, if any, validation is done is up to each individual manufacturer.
Everyone’s tolerance for risk is different. I don’t know who’d be on the hook for accurate results during a FDA audit, you or the CMO.
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Is there an actual definition of “clean”?
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Perry’s right. Unrefined shea smells bad. You can either use refined shea to get rid of the odor, or you can use fragrance to mask the odor, or you can choose to live with the odor, but there aren’t any other choices.
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Some CMO’s, and even some consultants, may offer their formulating services without conveying ownership of the formula. (This isn’t really IP, since no patents are involved) Doing this is usually much cheaper than owning the formula, but it locks you in to a business relationship that you may not want.
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Typically, a method validation is run on lab batches, which cannot be sold.
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As I understand it, method validation is a series of API assays, using placebos/knock-outs, which make sure that your formula specifically can be tested and produce accurate assay results. For example, using only 1 API (for simplicity), ideally you’d test 4 batches of your formula - one with no API, one with 100% API, one with 90% API, and one with 110% API. This will prove that the assay used correctly picks up the variations.
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Not very many cosmetic chemists have experience with dishwasher products. Maybe a different forum would be a better place to ask?
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API = Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. It is different from the “bulk active” amount, which can have diluents in it.
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It’s complicated, but the short version is that method validation is what proves that your API assay test is accurate for your specific formula. It should be done every time a significant formulation change is made. Without it, you don’t really have proof that you actually have the level of API in your product that your label claims you do, or that your stability tests are accurate.
What’s worse is if an API assay comes back out-of-spec after you’ve already gone into production. Without a validated method, you won’t know if the test was done wrong, or the batch was made wrong.
All this can be avoided by using an already formulated, validated, and stability tested product. A number of CMO’s and private label manufacturers have these ready to go. It’s much, much less aggravating to go this route.
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Use more highly refined Shea Butter?
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Unfortunately, “light and non-greasy oil” is diametrically opposed to “lasting moisturization through out the day”. You can have one, but not the other, or you can strike a balance between the two, but you can’t have both.
It may be possible to get a lasting moisturizing effect from a different ingredient, but it won’t be an oil. It may not even be oil -soluble.
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200g or 500g is fine, depending on the formula. 100g is iffy, and less than 100, at least for me, creates problems even if only scaling up to 500g
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If, for example, it’s this or something similar to this:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/195354106/organic-hands-cream-honey-and-aloe-honey
Materials: raw honey, aloe vera, olive oil, almond oil, geranium blossoms water, rosemary, grapefruit
There are significant issues with the accuracy of this ingredient listing.
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The major point I was trying to make applies to color and any other product. In my experience, scale-ups start to fail when there’s too much difference between steps. Usually, the geometry/rheology/energy input of the systems is too far from being similar to scale-ups when I start with batches that are too small, below 100 grams or so.
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You can do this without carbomer.
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When dispersing pigments, you want to use the thickest mixture that your mixers can handle. Particle-to-particle interaction can help improve the dispersion.
If you were buying new equipment, a ball mill, 3-roll mill or colloid mill would be ideal. Next best would be a Cowles dissolver.
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If you’re making a paste, a 3-roll mill would be your best bet.
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The “white fuzz” may well be mold. You really need to send it out for micro testing.
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100 gallons isn’t really a production size - it’s closer to a large pilot batch. The answer to this will be distorted by the need to make such a small batch.
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They are using titanated mica - there is no plain TiO2 in any of their shampoo formulas.