ChemicalPyros
Forum Replies Created
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Hello,
The HIPEs are very interesting types emulsions to make and to study, and as you can see from the video they are easy enough to make if you have all the materials and start at the last step.
As for the claims concerning the sensorials and the TEWL, those are highly dependent on the ingredients forming the HIPE, of course the formulation and the processing play a role, but I think it is bold to generalize the properties the way she is doing.
Finally while the HIPEs are interesting, the ingredients to make them are very limited, so you do not have a wide array of choice like you have with the more “classical” emulsions. If many people make HIPEs, you will end up with a lot of brands having practically the same product.
Not to be overly pessimistic, but HIPEs are still in their youth concerning cosmetics, maybe with future research and developments they can become more promising.
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Here is a link @AVisotsky:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-365/access
The main advantage of this software is that you can identify searching parameters that can ease up the formulation process:
You can set it up for example to give all the compounds that are stable in a given pH range, or all the compounds that you have that belong to the cationic surfactant category, so on and so forth.
Of course it will require extensive setting up and data entry, but IMO it is worth it. -
Excel is a very light and versatile tool and works very well especially for formulas. Personally, I prefer Access for inventories and chemicals, because I can link datasheets, add personal notes and images, and it can generate codes for the products which is helpful in terms of confidentiality.
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It will depends on the water content, if you have a low water activity it will inhibit bacterial and fungal growth, if not a preservative is in order, but be very careful as lips are more sensitive than other areas, so the preservative should be very mild.
Flavors are usually light sensitive and may go bad with bacterial or fungal contamination. -
Hello Eugene,
As flavors they are usually treated like fragrances, you add them in the same way as the fragrance.
They may be compatible with lip scrubs (if the scrubbing agent is salt or sugar), but it might not dissolve in anything anhydrous. So you might consider adding a surfactant to help the dissolution.
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To be honest it is a very complicated subject, and according to my experience the solution is highly specific to the formula, there is no general answer. So I advise you to keep an open mind and try as many solutions as possible.
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Hello,
For the shiny surface I recommend that you use an old technique that is called “flaming”, where you wait for the product to cool then you heat its surface rapidly with a flame.
As for the blooming/sweating, it is usually due to the difference in polarity between the compounds that you are using, so if you have enough time and knowledge you can dissect each compound and determine its polarity and try to eliminate or replace the odd ones.
On the other hand, if you have no qualms with adding some compounds, some surfactants may help you overcome this, or some thickeners such as corn starch and/or fumed silica can help you.Hope this helps
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The threshold is for the limit of the compatibility between the HEC and the concentration of the surfactants.
My HEC at 2% can withhold 5% of surfactants.
Above 5% surfactants the HEC will precipitate.
So you can try your HEC at 0.5% vs several concentrations of surfactants to determine this threshold. -
HEC and most of the cellulose derived thickeners are partially compatible with surfactants. They have a concentration threshold above which they precipitate.
I usually use the HEC (100 000) from Shin Etsu. It can withstand up to 5% surface active matter, some other brands claim their HEC can withstand more, so I recommend that you try and detect this threshold before using it as a thickener in your products. -
Hello Trisha,
CMC is not a suspending polymer, I recommend using Xanthan gum instead if you want to rely on polymers.
Personally I use Kaolin or Fumed silica, they have suspending qualities but must be used carefully since they can affect the sensorials.
In the end it will depend greatly on the average size of the particles you want to suspend, while this is not a problem in regular soaps, in melt and pours it may cause sedimentation problems.
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Hello Margaret,
In simple terms NaCl is used to harden the soap bar.
In more complicated terms, the sodium ion (Na+) from the NaCl which is highly soluble in water (which is the main constituent of the liquid phase of the soap) will enter in a competition with the other salts (mainly fatty acid salts) present in this phase and cause the least soluble one to precipitate and transfer to the solid phase (usually the aim is to precipitate the sodium laurate). This will harden the soap and will help improve the quality of the foam. Sodium Lactate, glycerin and some other water soluble additives work in the same way to harden the soap. (you should note that the hardening is not linear, and there is always a sweet spot that the formulator should find where you have the best foam, the best hardness, and of course the ideal longevity)
The stearic acid (or sodium stearate) is highly insoluble in water so it will be in the solid phase, so it will harden the soap and increase its longevity and help stabilise the foam.
There are several mechanisms to harden the soap, and usually all of them are used to a certain extent.
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I am guessing there is a salting-out phenomena.
I am having this problem with my olive oil soap (olive oil and KOH). the first couple of times it worked great, then something happened and it started separating with a bottom phase having a color similar to yours.
I do not have currently a solution for this problem but I hope that it can be solved. -
To tell the truth I did not find any proof about its efficacy against COVID-19, the conclusions were mere extrapolations. So personally I will not use it until at least a proof of its compatibility with humans emerges.
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There is this company that popped on my facebook feed that makes chlorine dioxide and claims that it protects against viruses and other microbial forms.
https://www.facebook.com/Air-Doctor-106895034336243Try contacting them
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It seems to me a temperature problem, it happened and still happens with me (temperature differences between summer and winter). I suggest that you change the temperature and try it on a lower temperature.
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You could use butters and waxes to restructure your balm. Many other gelling agents exist. you could look in the book below, it might help you.
Alternative Routes to Oil Structuring - Ashok R. Patel
As someone who has already made a similar balm, the only advice I can give you is to look for sweating (and/or efflorescence) and of course the oxidation. -
Aiglon have a nice collection of gelling agents of mineral oils.
http://www.aiglon.eu/eng/gels.html
hope it is useful for your application
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It happened with me once, castor oil and laurel oil are not miscible for some reason. Hope this info is useful
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Hello @kiwigirl71,
The crystallization of all molecules of any material are basically the same, they depend on temperature, pressure and the presence of impurities. And soap is not so different from any other material.
While it is a very large subject to discuss in a post, you can find a starting point in the following book:
- Soap Manufacturing Technology by Luis Spitz
It has a chapter on the different crystalline structures of the soap, and how they are affected by the different types of molecules, and so on and so forth.
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Hello,
Without the formula it will be difficult to help.
Anyway there is this reference that may be of help in your endeavor:
- Saxton, K., Crosby, B., & Dunn, K. (2013). Formulation of Transparent Melt and Pour Soaps Without Petroleum Derivatives. H-SC Journal of Sciences, II.
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well silicones and parabens are well defined molecules that constitute the majority of the raw material, even the impurities that may be present are well defined and quantified. Essential oils on the other hand are much more complex, they are a mixture of molecules that can each have certain effects, and that can interact with each other to produce effects different from the effects of each molecule alone, which makes them extremely hard to study and to understand, especially with their ever changing composition.
You can find a lot of scientific literature on the Limonene for example (a major component of the citrus oils), or a-pinene (a major component of pine oil). But always keep in mind that the information is highly limited. -
Hello,
Essential oils are are very complicated raw material, they are constituted of thousands of molecules, and change their composition between different species, and for the same species but from year to year. So as far as I know there is no general study on essential oils. But you can take the essential oils that interest you, research their chemical composition, take the names of the molecules you find, and look for each molecule, this is the best way to find toxicological info about essential oils.
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Hello Hicham,
Usually the cosmetic grade of edible oils is highly impure (mainly due to the process and to the source itself). The oil may have a bitter taste or a different color or smell and does not conform to the food norms, but it does not affect the quality of cosmetic products made with them, especially when used to make soaps. I do not have first hand experience in saponifying palm oil, but every year I make olive oil soaps. After the olive season, I make the tour of the olive presses (where they extract the oil from the olives), and I buy the “oil for making soap”, they are usually pretty cheap and most of the time they give it for free (they want to get rid of it).
So I advise you to go to the production sites of palm oil (if you can of course). And there they can help you with your inquiry. -
Sorry, Cetyl alcohol instead of Cetostearyl alcohol.
