[chemicalmatt]

Any hard surface cleaner, which includes liquid dishwash, will be best at pH>9.0 Irritation doesn’t occur until you get into the pH 12 range, remember how dilute the working liquid is. Also, cleaning criteria can be a function of pH, I do not agree with Aziz there. Saponified systems will clean MUCH better at pH 11 than at pH 8. 

[chemicalmatt]

BTMS - no, but other quats are, depending on what formulation you aim to accomplish. CETAC-30 and Distearyldimonium chloride are f/f liquids at RT.

[chemicalmatt]

Sanek, if you were making an inverse-phase emulsion (w/o or w/Si) and applied high sheer homogenization, that is the reason it broke. Too much sheer will disrupt those formulas. You can mix well, but not too well, believe it or not.

[chemicalmatt]

Stearic acid works better, at a small addition too. I’ve also used ceresin wax to harden classic glyceride soap (I know: weird, right?) How it works? I’d like to know myself. It lies in the realm of physical chemistry, not organic….

[chemicalmatt]

Compatibility here should not be an issue, but as with all preservatives relying on acid dissociation, maintain a pH < 4.5 and a level of organic acid at the maximum allowed and you should have good results. Factor that into the acid content you are using to co-emulsify with that tertiary amine (lactic or citric, I assume?)

[chemicalmatt]

Better yet: add more stearic acid and GMS as Mark suggests, adjust the TEA  incrementally higher, then don’t add any citric acid at all, ever. Citric acid is an electrolyte and those crash carbomer gels. That’s why your viscosity sank. 

[chemicalmatt]

Film former, not oil layer, right? Use hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (Klucel), though good luck hydrating it in a lipstick oil base system. This is likely a non-starter, just like the others mentioned. 

[chemicalmatt]

Option B would be my educated guess. 

[chemicalmatt]

NeilL, I’ve made a lot of these and you will have little success with a LOW internal phase w/Si inverse phase emulsion. These are stabilized by having HIGH internal phases as you’ve discovered, plus other factors. You may be better off transitioning to an alkyl modified W/Si emulsifier such as those supplied by Evonik (Abil EM-series). Those accommodate lower internal phases better. 

[chemicalmatt]

This thread began as “what comprises Polawax?” then morphed into “why use Leucidal?”. Perry must have stepped out for a sandwich.  For the record Victoria, Polawax comprises Cetearyl Alcohol ~ 65 - 70% and Polysorbate 60 (“Tween 60”) ~   30 - 35%. Add a little Ceteareth-20 for good measure and go ahead and call it “natural” since nobody in authority seems to care.  You can make your own using those components. At $18/lb. MakingCosmetics ought to be ashamed. I pay $2.25/lb. for it at commercial buy levels like they do, and it is NF grade to boot. (And here I thought Croda was ripping people off!) Finally, I agree with Mark: friends, don’t let friends use Leucidal to preserve products unless there is a gun to their head.

[chemicalmatt]

Citric acid and caustic soda?
LABS and SLES?
HPMC and NaCl?
No preservative other than high pH?
No amphoteric hydrotrope?
You got problems there, my friend.

[chemicalmatt]

“They” use fixatives for this purpose. “They” being perfumers.  Read up on the topic of fixatives and you’ll figure it out.

[chemicalmatt]

Agree with gld010: xanthan is “pilling” upon rubdown on the skin. Get rid of it, you don’t need it. You DO need a preservative, though. Phenoxyethanol is NOT a preservative by itself. 

[chemicalmatt]

chirag: Na2 EDTA does fine at 0.10% unless you have REALLY hard water. Do not use either SalAc or triclosan, but do use p-chloro-m-xylenol (PCMX) at 0.50%, then you will not only have an anti-bactierial soap but you won’t need another preservative. If using PCMX, optimum pH should be in the range of 8.0 - 8.5. Also, drop the glycerin. Completely. Why formulators continue to place glycerin into surfactant cleansing products is beyond me. All it does is decrease foam, viscosity and body and does nothing else. I guess they think it remoisturizes or something? Not while it is flowing down the shower drain. Remoisturizes sewer cockroaches, then?

[chemicalmatt]

Belassi! Very funny.
Now why would anyone want to make hair removal wax “creamy”? 

[chemicalmatt]

Shelly, delete the EDTA from your formula!  That is used as an anti-deposition aid in laundry detergents, and you want the opposite effect in your fabric softener. Same for the IPA. If you are going to add colorant make it blue since that will brighten whites. ozgirl is right about Stepan too; my fave is Stepantex VT90 ester-quat. Best bang for the buck.

[chemicalmatt]

Shelly, you did nothing wrong except suggest a bland topic, that’s all. To answer: purchase a moisture balance and program it to heat 3.00g sample in aluminum weigh dish @ 110C @ 30 minutes. That will be a reliable test, but you may still want to keep your release spec very broad (+/- 2.0%) since the error propagation can be high.  A less reliable method is to purchase a lab oven, set it to 110C and use your analytical balance. As for viscosity there is no sub for a viscometer, at least not an accurate one.

[chemicalmatt]

You are going to need a surfactant to keep that amide from recrystallizing even though PEA is a polar molecule. Without knowing your formula application or parameters, a little lecithin should prevent that from happening, but after that…..????

[chemicalmatt]

Gunther, linear alcohol ethoxylates are used primarily in HI&I surface cleaners where we have used them forever, not in HBA products, because hey have a higher irritation potential. Otherwise these would be used because they are cheap, effective hydrotrope-surfactants, and they have little or no residual 1,4, dioxane.. I’ve been saying the same for years regarding gemini surfactants, which are safer & better: why haven’t cosmetic chemists used these more? They just don’t know I guess. Look into Colonial Chemical’s surfactant array for some.

[chemicalmatt]

IP will often be  sticking point - what DAS refers to is accounts payable, an entirely different matter, and one which DAS is correct: you will get screwed at some point, count on it. Back to the topic: spell out the route to ownership clearly and you cannot go wrong. There are many means of doing so of course, and you, Mark, no doubt have used them all. My own favorite is the sales threshold: hit $$XXX in annual sales and we GIVE you the formula. Everybody wins there. 

[chemicalmatt]

Speaking from experience Ultrez there is no better “farm system” for a junior formulator than working at a contract manufacturer for a few years.  You will work with an array of formulation challenges that chemists in the “Bigs” never will. Once you’ve gained 2 - 4 years experience at a contract manufacturer you will be able to work for a Big and blow them away with your skill set. Expect success.

[chemicalmatt]

SLES-2 or SLES-3 both have milder irritancy profiles than SLS. Reverse the ratio. Adding CAPB will help mollify too: good idea. Should thicken up your solution also, if that is OK.

[chemicalmatt]

OR just adjust the ratio of CAPB to SCI to a higher level of CAPB. CAPB is a mild hydrotrope while SCI is not, especially if your pH is below 7.0.

[chemicalmatt]

Evonik’s Aerosil line. Should be UK distributors aplenty.

[chemicalmatt]

Ziv, try using AMP-95 (aminomethylpropanediol). While it won’t give the pearl that TEA soap had, it will do the job.  Both Fekher & Gunther are right in recommending KOH though if it is a shave cream texture you are looking for.