Bobzchemist
Forum Replies Created
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@suzanne94, where are you located?
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Phospholipids are just one component of lecithin. They make good, if pricy, emulsifiers:
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If you are indeed making the batches identically, the next step to investigate is the uniformity of your raw materials.
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@Zink, All other things being equal, for the same weight of pigment, as particle size decreases, the opacity/coverage of TiO2 or ZnO increases. This holds true until you get down to particle sizes that are too small to reflect visible light frequencies, which is how transparent dispersions for sunscreens are obtained.
That being said, there are two levels of particle size reduction. The first level is de-agglomeration, which breaks up clumps of pigment until you get down to the primary particle size. This level is relatively easy.The second level is reducing the primary particle size. This is much more difficult and energy intensive, and may not even be possible with any standard cosmetic processing equipment short of a jet mill. -
Just as a point of information (for the US, at least) - there are very few “natural” colorants approved by the FDA. To my knowledge (and I’ve looked extensively) NONE of these colorants are available as “certified organically grown”.
Given the level of colorants needed for color cosmetics, together with the regulations for organic certification, there is just no way to formulate a “certified organic” color cosmetic that’s legal for sale in the US.Also, even if you could somehow twist a color cosmetic formula to meet the lowest level of organic certification (“contains organic ingredients”), the cost of using only certified organic raw materials and the other regulations would at least double, and probably triple, the cost of your finished product.Most people don’t realize what it means to make a “certified organic” product. (Or that they will be sued aggressively if they use the word “organic” on their package without being certified).To meet the lowest level of organic certification (“contains organic ingredients”), 70% of your ingredients must be certified organic themselves. The organic certifiers will require you to have your formula pre-approved by them before you are allowed to begin manufacturing. Once approved, no changes can be made in ingredients, percentages, or suppliers without having to re-submit the formula for approval (which costs money every time).Tracing the process back, that means that the plants used to make the initial ingredients must be grown organically (without pesticides and most fertilizers). They must be harvested and kept separate from non-organically grown plants. Then, they need to be processed in a factory that is certified to prepare organic products, and still kept completely separate from products made with non-organically grown plants and/or products made synthetically. Packaging the finished ingredient(s) must meet the same rules of segregation.Then, these certified organic raw materials get shipped to the cosmetic manufacturer, who must also be certified to prepare organic products. They must still be kept completely separate from any raw materials made with non-organically grown plants and/or made synthetically, preferably in a separate warehouse section. While the product is being made, careful documentation is required to prove that only allowed materials are being used. Packaging the finished cosmetic must be done without contaminating the finished product with any other formulation.As I hope you can tell, this is a major pain in the butt for cosmetic manufacturers and raw material manufacturers, and they charge high prices. Be real careful of how much you will be able to charge for your “certified organic” cosmetics - they won’t perform any better than non-organic products, and there’s a limited group of people who will pay premium prices just to have “certified organic” on the label. -
With a reasonable budget, I’d use a cooling tunnel after the bottles are filled and capped.
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I can’t think of a mechanism whereby pvp and/or emulsifying wax would cause hair to fall out, unless there was considerable mechanical stress. Did you try to comb/brush your hair while you were using the pomade?
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Yes, I do test and use each and every product I work on, at least once.
No, I will not discuss how I tested products when I worked for Estee Lauder and Maybelline. -
I agree with Perry’s actions.
I will also point out that this is a community designed by and for professional cosmetic chemists. We are not a group of handcrafters and hobbyists, we all have reputations and jobs that could be at risk. As a result, we have a responsibility to be careful about what we post here - this is a public forum, and it is easily searchable with Google.This discussion thread was, at @Perry’s request, deliberately kept to general advice and precautions to be taken when contracting with any generic consultant, and not a specific individual.Collectively, we’ve been accused of being complicit in the actions of one individual, and of minimizing and/or defending his actions. This is not the case.Our professional reputations and the reputations of the company we work for are on the line, each and every time we post on this forum. There is a reason my signature has the disclaimer that it does - I was threatened with legal action against both myself and Beaumont due to a post I made here.The only defense against a charge of libel is truth, and facts.For a fact, all I can say that I truthfully know with certainty, is that there is an individual on this forum who has been accused of wrongdoing by another individual on this forum. I can’t regard any of the information posted here as credible fact - there is no proof or other substantiation, and even if there was, I couldn’t trust it - it could have been photoshopped. As a result, as a professional, it would be extremely irresponsible of me to take sides in this dispute, and I won’t. I suspect that the same holds true for the other professionals here. -
Perhaps one of the microbiologists on here will help, but I strongly suspect that you’re asking for the kind and volume of information that will require you to hire a consultant.
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There’s also a chemical titration:
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% Volatile substance test. (or use a moisture balance)
Without a moisture balance, this is the procedure:Precisely weigh out a gram or two of the test substance into an aluminum weigh dish.Place into oven at 105C - 110C / 220F - 230F constant temperature.Check weight every half hour. When the weight has stopped changing (2 consecutive weights the same), you’re done.The math involved in figuring out %loss is left as an exercise for the student.
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@gripclean, once you saponify it, it’s not Lauric Acid any more - and all the antibacterial activity goes away…
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Let me put it a different way. You have at least 10x too much oil. Try cutting it down to 1% or so.
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There’s something to be said for using it just because it’s convenient, too. It has it’s widest use as an emulsifier when it’s neutralized - but, if you’re already using it as an emulsifier, sometimes it’s just easier to also use it as a viscosifier/bodying agent instead of going through the somewhat involved process of bringing in a new material and/or supplier.
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I tend to think that part of the problem is clients trying to get work done very cheaply.
For example, I would expect a consulting firm that meets @AmyBurton’s requirements to start charges at around $10,000 for a fully tested and qualified simple cosmetic formula, twice that for a complicated formula, and three or four times that for an OTC drug formula. I would also expect them to charge extra each and every time the formula target is changed.Trying to get a formulation for $2,500 may well be asking for trouble - someone who can work that cheaply is most likely someone who has taken on many more projects than he or she can handle, just to be able to pay their bills. -
Pretty much by anyone’s definition, no sunscreen filters can be called natural. I’m not sure you’re going to find any that are legal and also non-irritating, either.
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What is your definition of “natural”?
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Try it both ways and see for yourself.
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@ Zink, “couple” is the term used when you link insoluble materials with partially soluble materials to get a uniform mixture.
For example, dimethicone + water = insoluble, not miscible, 2-phasedimethicone + dimethicone copolyol + water = insoluble, miscible, 1-phasedimethicone + dimethicone copolyol + alcohol + water = soluble, 1-phase -
Olivem needs to be at 8% or higher
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I’d volunteer to answer questions on color cosmetics…
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Priscilla, your only hope for this is to find a distributor that will sell to a small business. Most distributors will not, for liability reasons. The biggest problem for liability is that if you, as an untrained formulator, produce a product that harms you or someone you give/sell it to, the supplier could get sued for letting you have a material that only a professional should be using.
You can easily make lipstick and lipgloss without MQ Resin. In fact, you should, so that you get an idea of how your formulas perform without it.I would very, very strongly advise you against making eyeliner. Any product that gets that close to the eye has the potential to do enormous harm - if you don’t have the resources to do the safety and microbial testing, you should stay far away from it.