[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I believe your proportions are a bit out. Stearic acid is usually used as a secondary emulsifier. You need a primary emulsifier like Olivem 1000 at around 6.5%, more water to around 65, too much butter & maybe throw in a wax? Phenoxyethanol is good but maybe try Euxyl 9010. Good luck!!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Love the old tricks!!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I guess it all depends on cost and accessibility! and the experiments you are trying.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Isoamyl Laurate I have used with good success. There are many natural silicone replacements now eg Lexfeel natural, Ecosil, Silc Oliv, you could even try C5 celtiol- coco-caprylate??

Good luck!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Ingredients:

Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil (Sunflower Oil), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
Powder (Aloe Vera Leaf Juice Powder), Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E).

Aloe Vera Oil Extract is
an oil based extract. Elements of the leaf of the Aloe Vera plant are
extracted into a Sunflower Oil base to form an extract that can be used
in most hydrophobic (oil based) products or in the oil phase of
formulations for cosmetics and personal care products.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Patents are painful and the product is going to be copied pretty quickly anyway. There is enough work just getting the product out to market than worrying about an expensive patent.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

 I agree with Perry that it helps to rinse out a thick mask like this as it has quite a bit of waxy oils etc. It will feel soft and silky but a conditioning agent such as this still needs to be soluble and rinsed out with water.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Hi there, I am from the land of Tea Tree Oil (down under). I would not start with Tea Tree oil or any essential oil at all, especially volatiles like Tea Tree oil.

You really need calming, soothing ingredients to first of all take the inflamed areas down. Also can you stop running for a week? until the inflamed area is better. Then I would try some of the ingredients to address the microbes.

If you would like some more information please email me and I can give you some help. I am in the formulators list. Good luck.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

You can mix the shea butter with jojoba oil. Melt the butter first and put in the jojoba, keep it on the heat for about 20min and it should stay as a liquid. You may have to play with oils other than jojoba, just experiment. Good luck.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I would use Euxyl 9010- Phenoxyethanol & Ethylhexylglycerin combined. It is from Shulke, works well at 1% and not too expensive. Good luck!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

You can formulate sanitiser without IPA or ethanol. You certainly need to take out the IPA.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

@Herbnerd you can get the natural preservatives from Trulux, New Directions just look around there are a few. You can use a much better Leucidal now on its own. I think it is called Leucidal SF or something like that. Just make sure it is broadspectrum and then you don’t need alcohol, especially if you want to go natural.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Frankly it is embarrassing…

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Use Leucidal 2% and Amp cide 2%

hope this helps

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

The hydroxide is quicker & you only need a few drops otherwise you can put in 20m L of TEA but you don’t want to add that much liquid to your formula. That’s why they say qs 

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

It is what it is…..

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Propane diol 1,3 is popular 

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Beet powder inevitably turns poo brown….

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

You can probably tell which one is the best by reading a suppliers list, one of those will come up all the time.

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I think you need to add a buffer early on in the reaction and carbomer can easily break apart. You can buy carbomers now that have already been neutralised, try that, then what type of mixing are you doing? Did you let the carbomer swell first? it may not be coping with so much chloride. Up the carbomer and get that right first! and change your alkali from TEA to NaOH? just thinking out loud..if you use a 30% NaOH solution you should only need a few drops which may not break your gel.

lots of things to experiment with, keep going you will get there….

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

You can buy oil soluble beetroot!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

You can find formulas via google, really you could start again. Keep the ingredients you have but you may want to buy a few more surfactants to start off with and to experiment with. Then you will get to know what they are and what they can do. Just use small amounts each time and make sure you write it all down. If you want to keep your formulas for over a week or two you may want to buy a preservative and maybe an anti-oxidant.

Perry has a course that tells you all about this area of surfactants…and is right here on chemists corner check it out man!!

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I would certainly choose the water based formula as I do not think I want to add oil on oil ending up like a greasy sleezball?? Also Triethyl citrate is a well known ingredient in deodorants, I believe it was the active that replaced Al ?

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

I am wondering what is wrong with Aloe and honey? why would those ingredients be off putting?? Please explain?? Ha…

[Dr Catherine Pratt]

Hi there, when you say Shea and coconut, are you talking about the butter and oils as well? because if you are making allergen free you may want to look up the emollients and fatty acids that are comedogenic. Some of these ingredients can cause bacteria to grow as they feed on them. So then you would most likely want to do a dermatological product that really would be allergen free and cover all bases if you get what I mean?