[Chispas]

Thota said:

CAPB & Glutamate are mild
Coco glucosides - i find it a bit harsh on skin compared to above,  keep it to minimum. 

Thank you! i just ordered CAPB yesterday so I’m hopping to create a milder formula soon ::smile:

[Chispas]

RedCoast said:

Chispas said:

RedCoast said:

The pH isn’t the problem. The skin is slightly acidic and functions best if it’s ~4.7 or so. This varies by location (face vs arms, for example) but generally speaking it’s 5 pH or under.

It’s the high concentration of surfactants that’s causing dry hands. Keep in mind this can be even more drying if you often wash your hands or have generally drier, more mature skin.

Do you have access to other surfactants that meet your palm-free requirements?

Thank you! I was guessing the p.H wasn’t the problem.
I made some reseach and I was thinking about using coco betaine instead of the Disodium/Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 28% or at least replace it partially. But I will probably try what Abdullah suggested. 

Just out of curiosity… was that recipe intended for very oily hair? The concentration of coco glucoside seemed awfully high for a co-surfactant!

If your hands were itchy or rashy, that could’ve been the coco glucoside. There have been several reports of allergies to alkyl glucosides in the last few years.

No, it wasn’t. It was supposed to be a “mild” shampoo. I got it from a natural cosmetics book (a german one). I studied chemical engineering so I know all the chemistry behind surfactants but only recently did I take this as a hobby and so I am still learning about all the surfactants. What was important to me and my family was to have a palm oil free formula and to try to reduce our waste (the first reason I started this hobby!). What I found very strange was that the components of this formula were very similar to a very famous baby soap formula from a well known brand here and so it is funny to think it can be so strong. In their package coco glucoside is listed as the second ingredient after water so I’m very shocked to hear it is an irritant.

[Chispas]

RedCoast said:

The pH isn’t the problem. The skin is slightly acidic and functions best if it’s ~4.7 or so. This varies by location (face vs arms, for example) but generally speaking it’s 5 pH or under.

It’s the high concentration of surfactants that’s causing dry hands. Keep in mind this can be even more drying if you often wash your hands or have generally drier, more mature skin.

Do you have access to other surfactants that meet your palm-free requirements?

Thank you! I was guessing the p.H wasn’t the problem.
I made some reseach and I was thinking about using coco betaine instead of the Disodium/Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate 28% or at least replace it partially. But I will probably try what Abdullah suggested. 

[Chispas]

Abdullah said:

Increase Glutamate to at least %40 and decrease glucoside to max %4 the problem will be solved. 

Do you have preservative? 

Thank you so much! I’ll try that No, I just made very small batches so far as I am still not happy with the results so far. Once I find a formulation that makes me happy I will make a bigger batch and add preservatives. My book suggest Rokonsal (Benzyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Benzoic acid, Sorbic acid) but I still need to make research.