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  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    February 18, 2021 at 9:54 pm in reply to: Why is stearic acid sold in different forms?

    Stearic acid triple pressed NF 50 (C18:C16 in 1:1 ratio) having both saponification and acid values approximately 210 is the only grade to use either as emulsifier builder with amine, as thickener, or soap making. This is why veterans often refer to it as “soaper’s stearic”.  I’ve never seen the powder only the flakes. Powder may be form Chinese source?

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    February 12, 2021 at 10:00 pm in reply to: Few minutes of irritation with Polymeric emulsifiers & thickeners

    With 6% niacinamide I don’t see how your skin would not itch no matter what thickener was employed. I know that mine would. Are you sure you are “not sensitive to actives”?

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    February 5, 2021 at 9:48 pm in reply to: Lightening Body Scrub… How to?!

    You have asked so many questions and there are so many variables to this task that answers would be pure guesswork. So much hangs on the constituents of the commercial scrub you use as base. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    February 5, 2021 at 9:41 pm in reply to: How to Make a Stable Liquid Emulsion

    I think you answered your own question. Aristoflex crosspolymers contribute stability already,  The combo of Montanov L / GSC ought to be good enough to emulsify an oil load of 10%, then let the polymer do the rest. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    February 5, 2021 at 7:54 pm in reply to: Liposomes

    Always add (pre-made) liopsomes after emulsifying, and especially after homogenization or heating for long periods. Though these phosphatidylcholine vesicles are relatively strong, they are sensitive to sheer and strong alkali.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 28, 2021 at 10:09 pm in reply to: Dishwashing Liquid Curdling

    By “Sulphonic acid” do you intend alkylbenzenesulfonic acid? If not then you have a curdled toilet bowl cleaner there. Likely cause is not enough caustic, your pH should be above 8.0 or this will happen every time. Loose the salt since it doesn’t do anything there without another builder. Finally, add a hydrotrope such as an amphoteric surfactant. You don’t need much: 5 - 8% w/w will do of a 35% solution. Also, what is “CDE”?

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 28, 2021 at 10:00 pm in reply to: Best solubiliser for toner

    PolySugaMulse D9 from Colonial Chemical Company (TN, USA) is the best solubilizer on the market, hands down. It is nonionic and handles that pH too.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 28, 2021 at 9:59 pm in reply to: Foaming after hand washing is done.

    Two suggestions  here @Snehajoshi : increase  the level of coco-betaine relative to SLES by a lot: increase betaine/reduce SLES.  Also increase the EDTA since your  water in India has more hardness (Ca++, Fe+++) then other places. I would double the EDTA, assuming it is tetrasodium EDTA.. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 28, 2021 at 9:52 pm in reply to: Soaping effect in cosmetic emulsion

    Common to see foaming when using anionic emulsifiers such as those phosphate esters.  Cetyl Alcohol should take care of it, adding only 2.00%, but it appears you already have a bunch of FA in there already… so why the soaping then???…beats me. Well as @Paprik  suggests, minimizing the level of emulsifier in the formula might help. With personal care formulation in general: less is often more.
     

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 25, 2021 at 10:06 pm in reply to: Red color produced during Shampoo production

    @Abdullah, you have iron oxide there or something that was catalyzed by it - and lots of it. Can you get plastic (UDHDPE or PP) vessels and fittings where you are? As long as you don’t need to heat they work fine. Getting rid of that stuff in your shampoo is another story since iron feeds bacteria really well. Throw a bunch of EDTA in there if you have any and see what happens. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 25, 2021 at 10:02 pm in reply to: 316 grade stainless steel

    @hanab  I don’t know what country you are dwelling but check any food production or restaurant supply house for these 316SS tools. In Chicago we have many fabrication shops specializing in sanitary stainless for the food trade.  You likely have one nearby too. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 25, 2021 at 9:59 pm in reply to: Does this require a preservative?

    @Margaret, good thing your supplier ran out of Suttocide because that preservative is useless above pH 6.0, and your borax soap formula is definitely above pH 9.0, so you have been preservative-free all along. Success!

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 25, 2021 at 9:55 pm in reply to: Why does Glycerin reduce viscosity of shampoos?

    Two questions there @MapX, and that second one is worthy of a second post since it will require a looonnnngg answer, perhaps even a seminar (Perry?) so I’ll answer only the first. Glycerine is a polyol just as are diols (propylene glycol), which are all part of the alcohol family. All small-carbon chain alcohols decrease foam and viscosity. PEGs with longer chains do not reduce foam but they will reduce viscosity in most cases. Those hydroxyls act as a tertiary surfactant competing with your longer chain surfactants. David beats Goliath so to speak.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 25, 2021 at 9:47 pm in reply to: How does Sodium Lactate function as an exfoliant?

    C.I.R. says exfoliant, huh? Only if you drive the pH to< 4.0, liberating the free acid. Some use sodium lactate as a (weak) chelating alternate to EDTA, but I have only used it with lactic acid to form a nifty pH buffer. If you ever formulate with urea in large concentration the lactate buffer will be essential.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 21, 2021 at 10:01 pm in reply to: Small Homogenizer recommendations (for purchase)

    You should not need any homogenizer for those Edge Gel formulations. No sheer is needed. Why not obtain a KitchenAid Mixer (planetary type) like the home bakers use? On the lowest speed they do a fine job without adding too much air. They make 3kg at a time, and the professional ones handle up to 6kg.  You can purchase one at most home product retail stores. Perfect for carbomer gels and high viscosity creams too - lots of torque to play with.

  • @Isharaperera  I would consider @Fekher‘s question. If SLES is subbing for LABSA, is your purpose to lower irritation potential? Otherwise why not stick with LABSA? Cheap and effective and no more offensive than Tergitol. I do think lauramine oxide is a great builder as @Andraous suggests, and if you are to use an APG use lauryl or coco glucosides, not decyl. Finally DOSS-70 has been a workhorse anionic for decades in these systems and is inexpensive, readily available. (Disodium Octylsulfosuccinate 70%)  Check it out.
       

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 9:29 pm in reply to: Marketing and Consumer Preferences Question

    Mintel is the premier source for this intel. They do charge for the privilege.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 9:25 pm in reply to: How to make fragrance last longer in hair when using shampoo?

    @1501 I think @”Dr Catherine Pratt” makes a good call with Glucam P20 there, and 1 - 2% w/w is more than enough @Cafe33. I’ll add though that deposition of fragrance oils parallels deposition of any other oil onto the hair, so your surfactant composition is a key factor not to be overlooked. Des Goddard wrote extensively on the topic of coacervate dilution-deposition of actives and oils, as has Dr. Bob Lockhead.  

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 9:18 pm in reply to: Updated HLB master list out there?

    @Pharma  Your opinion is noted and hardly novel. What you may not have realized is that the HLB system was never intended to be a certainty but merely a guideline to assess a starting point, plus it only applied to nonionics and a precious few anionics (e.g. lecithin, a fave of the “all-natural” crowd.) Relying on it 100% could be considered “stubborn”; though I would not digress to considering my peers “stupid”. Also, PEG and ETO nonionics are still in “full bloom” for us many “stubborn” formulators who use them every day. Many manufacturers of PG and Gly ester emulsifiers have not been able to calculate a rough HLB for their emulsifiers, but some have made a good stab at it. Regarding the PIT-HLD values you mention: not a single supplier I know has been able to supply intel on those parameter values, and I have asked. Useful: yes, workable: not so much. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 19, 2021 at 8:09 pm in reply to: Formulating

    …echoing what Bill Toge said. ’nuff said.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 19, 2021 at 8:00 pm in reply to: Anti static agent

    @Zara You may expect zero anti-stat activity with that Truefeel material from Inolex and nearly zero with Emulsense HC, which is pseudo-cationic. Alky/aryl quaternary compounds or LOTS of  triglyceride oils (i.e. olive oil) will negate static charge. If you can live with a lot of olive oil in your hair, then so be it, or combo up with the Emulsense HC.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 19, 2021 at 7:46 pm in reply to: microfoam on hand sanitizer

    @vhogiono  In that case, use Ultrez-21, its  the best for that application. Your “microfoam” can only be originating from the fragrance BTW. It must have a surfactant solvent/fixative. 

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 13, 2021 at 2:05 pm in reply to: Anti static agent

    Never heard of Truefeel. Why switch from the alkyl quats anyway? Behenyl quat has a Natural Origin Content of >0.80.  PQ-10 is based on a cellulose backbone, Guar HPTC on a natural polysaccharide. Even soyamidopropyl ethyldimonium ethosulfate (SOMEBODY please abbreviate that moniker!), the only quat approved by Whole Foods, is NOC ~ 0.80, doesn’t work as well as any you mentioned….perhaps do nothing?     

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 13, 2021 at 1:55 pm in reply to: Is Urea is correct ingredients to use in my formulation

    Negative. Urea does none of those things.

  • chemicalmatt

    Member
    January 13, 2021 at 1:54 pm in reply to: microfoam on hand sanitizer

    Better yet, use RapidGel EZ-1 (3V Sigma). It drops right in, no pilling, no foaming, no problem. 

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