[Bobzchemist]

OK, lets look at this for a minute:

The bulk of a typical motor oil consists of hydrocarbons with between 18 and 34 carbon atoms per molecule. (Wikipedia) It’s not a triglyceride, it won’t have a SAP number, and it won’t turn into soap if you add caustic to it.

The composition of used motor oil is here: 
http://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/documents/proceedings/v112/ias_v112_n2_p109-116.aspx

and here:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15275920802119441

It is apparently possible to make diesel or home fuel from it:

http://www.oiltofuel.com/

http://www.dieselbombers.com/general-diesel-related-tech-articles/10029-converting-waste-motor-oil-diesel-fuel.html

It may be even also possible to bring it back to a state where it can be used as motor oil again.

https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/used-oil-recycling/recycling-your-oil/uses-recycled-oil

https://mobiloil.com/en/article/car-maintenance/used-motor-oil-recycling/used-motor-oil-recycling

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_oil_recycling

http://www.recycleoil.org/

Using it to make soap, or even surfactants, on the other hand, doesn’t seem possible/feasible. 

[Bobzchemist]

Use a small bit of yellow and/or red iron oxide?

Why is that bluish look a problem?

[Bobzchemist]

I’d start by evaluating all the film-formers that are soluble in ethanol, one at a time. Just record results, don’t rule out anything yet, because you will likely need a plasticizer as well.

[Bobzchemist]

Much depends on whether or not you have to document periodic calibration of your instruments…

[Bobzchemist]

I don’t know what you have access to, but if you can afford to heat your oil mix a bit, you could try adding 5-10% of Stearic Acid.

[Bobzchemist]

Used cooking oil, on the other hand, has a variety of uses…

[Bobzchemist]

Have you spoken to the folks at Phoenix yet? John Imperante is extremely knowledgeable - if there’s an alternative he can point you to, I’m sure he will.

[Bobzchemist]

What a great idea. If your employees get to drink some of the coffee before you use it in the shampoo, I want to work with you.

Also, coffee scrub made from the grounds…

[Bobzchemist]

I don’t mean to say that you shouldn’t talk to chemists also. People like Mark Fuller and others of the consultants here, or one or more of the consultants on the SCC website, and/or posting on the SCC LinkedIn group, would be good to talk to about what is and isn’t possible, and relative costs for the formulating/manufacturing parts of this. Definitely get second and third opinions about this process.

[Bobzchemist]

I think we were all operating under the assumption that you had limited resources, and wanted/needed to start slowly. A number of us have worked with hair stylists, etc. and were trying to moderate your expectations. Overnight success doesn’t happen in this business, it takes a huge amount of planning.

Now that you have funding, there are a few different ways to go. You have to solve a set of problems:

1) Where to sell your product, who to sell your product to, and how to get people to buy your product (Sales/Marketing)
2) How to come up with a formula, produce (make/contract/buy) and test your formula and packaging
3) How to get your packaged formula to your customers (distribution)

Why is the first problem where/how to sell? Because the potential retail and wholesale prices of your products, and the sales outlets for your products, determine how much to make of your products at a time, how much the packaging needs to cost, and how much the formula needs to cost. And you absolutely need to have those numbers in place before you talk to private label/contract manufacturers.

This is all very complicated, and needs to be addressed not just by a consulting chemist, but also by a business consultant.

You might find that it would be more cost-effective to buy a small company that already does this and needs an infusion of cash, than it is to start your own company from scratch.

[Bobzchemist]

When pressing pressed powders, most manufacturers are going for speed over design, so they’re doing everything possible with a single press. In that situation, you need a way to let trapped air escape while pressing, so a fabric ribbon is used, which both embosses a design and allows air to escape, while also keeping the powder contained.

One way to put a design onto your pressed powder is by having some sort of design on the ram that presses the powder. This could be engraved into the ram, or be a rigid plastic cover that fits on the face of the ram. Detail will be lost when pressing with a ribbon, so make the design simple. Silicone will deform too badly under the pressure required.

Another way would be to use 2 rams, one to press evenly most of the way, and the second to press the design into the powder.

A third possibility would be an uniquely woven ribbon.

Using a stamp instead of a ram/mold will very likely fracture the pressed powder cake.

If I were doing this, I’d probably go with an engraved ram, and make sure that the design is symmetrical so that orientation into the compact isn’t critical.

[Bobzchemist]

Conversely, I’ve seen a number of product lines that have succeeded on a small scale very nicely.

The first step is that you have to either be a salon owner or be in partnership with one. Next, find a private label company with low minimums, buy some stock, and start selling in your own salon. This should be close to a break-even proposition. If you price things correctly, you may then be able to sell the products to other local salons, which should start making you a little bit of money. The success of this sort of project comes because this is deliberately a side project, and the hairdressers/salon owners never expect to make much money at it. It actually becomes advertising for the salon that you don’t have to pay for, so there’s no need to expect much, if any, money back from the project.

Private label manufacturers can be met most easily at large trade shows.

[Bobzchemist]

Make a shampoo using coffee concentrate, ignore the caffeine concentration. Don’t claim it anywhere, shouldn’t be a problem with the patent.

[Bobzchemist]

There’s no such thing as an “easy” formulation for liquid lipstick. It’s a very hard product to get right.

[Bobzchemist]

Also check with the SCC.

[Bobzchemist]

@MarkBroussard 

Mark,

If you are comfortable defending yourself in a lawsuit and/or paying (potentially large) legal fees, you can follow the natural guidelines from one of the certifying organizations and not bother with getting certified. You will have protection AFTER the lawsuit goes to court, but none beforehand. Intent means nothing to the people suing. To them, suing a company is very much like buying a lottery ticket. To a small extent, I’m getting information from both sides, and there are definitely plans to sue a great number of companies, both large and small.

If you are certified, the chances are much lower that you will even begin to be sued.

While on the one hand, this does eliminate “greenwashing”, it also means that if the people suing prevail, things will be very black or white in the natural products industry. The definition these guys are pushing for is that any product that has the words “nature” or “natural” on it anywhere will have to be 100% natural. There will be no such thing as “98% natural” or “contains natural ingredients”. The presence of any quantity of any synthetic material, even if it’s added by a raw material supplier and you don’t know about it, will get you sued. Costs for the companies that remain in business are going to go up.

This will also become what’s called a “slippery slope”. Since there’s no real definition of “natural”, the next target for these lawyers is probably going to be companies using “natural” raw materials that are chemically combined. And it won’t end there.

[Bobzchemist]

Everything you make needs a preservative system. Always.

[Bobzchemist]

You might want to look into Pemulen TR-2 as an emulsifier, thin the wax with mineral spirits/volatile hydrocarbons, and dump the emulsifying wax, fragrance and alcohol.

Another option would be to check out the Dow HIP products:
http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/default.aspx?R=3034EN
http://www.dowcorning.com/applications/search/default.aspx?R=1754EN

[Bobzchemist]

I am ridiculously fond of my new Ohaus Scout STX2202, which costs about $650, has a 2.2 kg capacity, a color touchscreen, and reads to 0.01 grams. We bought two of them for the lab. 

http://www.affordablescales.com/ohaus/scout-stx/stx2202.asp 

We also bought one of the higher capacity scales, the Scout STX6201, which is a 6.6kg scale, but only reads to 0.1 grams. It costs $530

http://www.affordablescales.com/ohaus/scout-stx/stx6201.asp

If those are too pricy,  I’ve recommended this soap-making scale to several people, all of whom are quite happy with it. It’s a surprisingly decent scale for under $80.

My Weigh Maestro 2-in-1 Digital Scale:

Large platform with 8000 gram capacity x 1 gram resolution

Slide out platform with 200 gram capacity x 0.1 gram resolution

http://www.oldwillknottscales.com/my-weigh-maestro.html 

[Bobzchemist]

I didn’t make my self clear enough. From what I’ve gathered so far, no suits, preliminary discovery, etc. will even be started against companies that are certified, because the certification makes this a losing cause right from the beginning.

Companies that are compliant, but not certified, are vulnerable to these lawsuit preliminaries, because many of them are being filed in the hopes that there will be quick settlements for very little outlay. It’s cheap for the plaintiff’s lawyers to proceed even if there’s not a settlement, so they’ll keep moving forward in the hopes of shaking loose some easy settlements eventually.

Once the lawsuits pass through the preliminary stages, (costing many thousands in legal fees to the defendants anyway) and actually get to trial, being “compliant” with the standard will probably (but may not) save a company from getting a judgement against it. 

[Bobzchemist]

Mark,

If you’re certified, you are apparently getting a pass on using the synthetic ingredients allowed by the certifying organization, probably because a lawsuit would also have to take on the certifier, and by extension, everyone who’s been certified.

If you are just following the standard, but not certified, you stand alone, and you’re a target. Saying “but the NPA allows these synthetic ingredients” does not protect you at all.

[Bobzchemist]

It’s a slippery slope, and there haven’t been any final decisions yet, just decisions allowing lawsuits to proceed over the objections of the people being sued. The objections about the vague definitions of “natural” and the lack of a single “natural” standard have, so far, not made any impact on the judges. 

There have been a number of lawsuits in the past that nailed companies for claiming “100% Natural” when there were some completely synthetic petro-chemical derived raw materials in them. Many companies in the natural products industry have made sure since then to only call their products “natural”, having received advice that having products that were 98-99% natural or naturally-derived were OK.

“Natural” seems to be used interchangeably with “botanical” or “plant-derived” in the documents I’ve seen.

Now, the current lawsuits are claiming that using the word “natural” on your packaging creates the identical impression to a consumer as using the term “100% Natural” does, and is therefore fraud. It will take years of legal wrangling before this is decided.

[Bobzchemist]

Try making a binder concentrate at 5% or 10% binder. Then add the amount of the concentrate you need to your batch.

[Bobzchemist]

http://www.koboproductsinc.com/Formulas.html#LPowder

http://www.mpipersonalcare.com/Formulations.aspx?fp=main

Look at these formulas to see how much they’re using.

[Bobzchemist]

Thanks. A big chunk of being able to formulate powder products well is understanding how particle sizes and shapes interact with the skin, and with each other. If you’re a professional cosmetic chemist tasked with formulating powders, it’s a great idea to also understand how particle sizes and shapes interact with production equipment. Not all of this information is available from the cosmetic side - you have to talk to people who process powders for a living.