Bobzchemist
Forum Replies Created
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Mark, I’m guessing that you need data for transportation, like a flash point, possibly VOC content, and some basic physical testing, like pH and specific gravity. I’d recommend Intertek (http://www.intertek.com/ )
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All of these things are available commercialy, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Using the coffee may require closer attention to preservative levels, though.
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Why do they think salt is bad???
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1 liter/kilo? That’s a lot of material. I think my first question would be - what purpose are you planning on using this for, and do you have the resources available to make sure that the hydrolyzed protein is free from harmful impurities and heavy metals?
As cosmetic chemists, we almost always think that it’s a Very Bad Idea(tm) to make your own raw materials. Why? Because we rely on our raw material suppliers to provide us with safe, reliable, well-characterized and tested raw materials. If this wasn’t the case, we would each have to do all of the testing ourselves, which would waste a lot of money, or face the risk of lawsuits over unsafe ingredients, which no-one (except for lawyers) wants to happen. -
There are stick hand blenders with removable heads, for easier cleaning. I think they’re worth the extra money. I’ve also heard that it’s possible to get a machine shop/fabricator to alter the heads to simulate a homogenizing mixer, although I haven’t tried that myself.
A good, used overhead mixer with stand is also very useful. Try Ebay. -
@Zink, it’s not the cost per test, it’s the cost of method development and validation that’s so expensive.
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The FDA Sunscreen monograph is not the only regulation that sunscreens must follow. Sunscreens must also follow all the other regulations that apply to drugs/OTC drugs. The big one is that you have to be able to prove that you have the claimed amount of active ingredient in your product, and you have to test every batch before you can sell it.Other littler ones include having to follow pharmaceutical instead of cosmetic cGMP, having to register your facility with the FDA, having to assay/run incoming QC checks on all incoming drug raw materials, having to qualify all of your suppliers of all drug raw materials, having to train all of your employees that work on or affect the OTC drug on cGMP yearly, having to use the correct form of batch record and file all related information correctly, and on and on. I would seriously suggest getting a consultant to work with you on this.It’s actually a major pain to make sunscreens if you’re not already set up to make OTC drugs, to the point where the company I work for is thinking of giving it up as a bad investment.I would recommend Allied Analytical Laboratory Services, in Millington TN. He was the cheapest we found for this.Contact Vernell Stornes for more information.
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If you’re having trouble with the idea of $5,000 for the 20-person SPF test, you really need to drop the idea of selling a sunscreen until you have more working capital.
The more expensive test that’s required is actually the active ingredient assay. Depending on which lab you use, the method development part of the assay could cost between $10,000 and $25,000 -
Most companies won’t get in trouble for doing this unless the FDA has an ax to grind. I would strongly recomend against doing it, though.
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There is no one natural preservative that will work to control bacteria by itself reliably, let alone also control yeast and mold.
You have to realize that by requiring “natural” you inevitably give up a large amount of efficacy and reliability, as well as safety.The best that you will be able to do will be to use a “hurdle” system, where 3, 4 or more preservatives work together to preserve your product. The combination of preservatives you will need, their ratios and amounts, etc., will very likely need to be different for each formula you make.Please also realize that by switching to a new preservative system, you are making a new product in the eyes of the regulators, rendering every bit of your current stability testing, your safety testing, your package compatibility testing, and your PET/Challenge testing completely invalid. All of those tests will need to be redone after you determine that you have an adequately preserved product. -
The more I think about this, the more I’m sure that Cera Bellina will be your best bet.
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What wax you choose will depend on how natural you need your formula to be. For a natural solution, try Carnauba or Candelilla. Otherwise, use a microcrystalline wax. Cera Bellina might also be worth looking into, for a more unique texture.
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As @AuroraBorealis said, we are formulators, not medical professionals. We could get into big trouble doing anything that could be construed as giving medical advice. This is the reason that there is very limited information on the web about this. If you need medical advice, you should always speak with a physician.That said, from a formulating perspective, I have always maintained that there is a problem anytime a product is formulated to do more than one thing. Cleaning and moisturizing skin, shampooing and conditioning hair, etc.Any time this is a formulating goal, we inevitably have to compromise, giving up some conditioning effect in order to shampoo more effectively, for example. So, in my opinion, two products that do one thing each will always perform better than one product that tries to do two things at once. I think that cleansing products should be focused on cleaning. Moisturizing should be done by a moisturizer. In that way, a consumer can avoid the formulating compromises that degrade the effectiveness of multiple-purpose products.
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Can’t help, sorry.
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What does the mixer manufacturer say about the possible uses for both mixing heads?
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This is one of those “it depends” questions. If what you are looking for is the complete conversion of stearic acid to a stearate, then your pH is going to need to be alkaline - just how alkaline will depend a bit on your neutralizing agent, but it’s usually about 9.0.
You are right that if the pH is lower, not all of the stearic acid will be neutralized/saponified. There are some benefits to having free stearic acid in a formula, so that’s probably what’s going on with the lower pH formulas - but at pH 6.5, I would strongly suspect that there is very little stearate being formed. -
There is no way to do adequate stability/safety/compatibility testing in less than 90 days, but many companies take the risk that 60 days of stability is a good predictor of 90 day stability.
Taking a finished, stable formula from the lab to production in six weeks is certainly possible, but everything depends on how busy your staff and factory already are. In every company I’ve worked for, production time is pre-booked for at least a month, preferably two. Slipping a new production batch into the schedule usually means re-arranging a lot of batches - not something you want to do frequently. -
@MHyman - As far as I can tell, it’s not just the US, no one anywhere on the planet is a licensed cosmetic chemist. I was just curious about where you got the idea that a license for a cosmetic chemist exists.
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Mark,
Why would you hit the beach? Wouldn’t that hurt your hand? And what’s the beach ever done to you, anyway?
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That’s an interesting question. There are two or three different types of dry binders, and each of them work differently. I’ll have to give this some thought.
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You will need to get that information from the manufacturer, or hire a consultant to reverse-engineer the formula.
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Leave the isododecane level where it is - that’s where is should be. Reduce non-volatile oils, increase waxes.
To my knowledge, no country or organization licenses cosmetic chemists. Where do you live? -
Well, the first thing we’d need to know is what your goals are. Are you trying to be a well-informed hobbyist, a small-business owner, or a professional cosmetic scientist?
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Have you tried a plasticizer?