[EVchem]

A gel exactly like that with only flaxseed I can’t find, but there are plenty of ‘actives’ using flaxseed that show their use in hair products

You could do this with many drying oils

[EVchem]

You in the US?
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-labeling-regulations/cosmetics-labeling-guide ( towards the bottom of the list under ingredient labeling)
Basically tiny bottles have special options to display ingredient list

[EVchem]

@DesignRockstar

Here are a couple previous discussions on this:

https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/comment/42958#Comment_42958
https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/comment/39213#Comment_39213

But yes CM typically keeps ownership unless you somehow negotiate for it (could be built in after selling so many units for example). I’m sure the real reason is money, but I like to think it’s because the formulators put time into tweaking, stabilizing, enhancing the formula so  even if you come with a general idea, it’s the CM who finally realizes the concept into a product. 
If you do a true tech transfer- formula goes as is from your hands to the CMs, then you should definitely still own the formula, that’s how it works at my current job.

[EVchem]

1) Denatured ethanol is used in lots of products where alcohol is required, you might want to check what kind of  denaturants are being used. As far as skin safety the best way would be to get HRIPT testing done on your finished formula, but that can be expensive for a hobbyist.

2)https://online.personalcarecouncil.org/ctfa-static/online/lists/cir-pdfs/PR574.pdf - that link is for safety data on benzyl benzoate, it mentions  sensitization in some groups. Again, patch testing of your final formula will show best if it is irritating, I’d advise anyone who uses it to test a small area of skin first.

Both these ingredients are typically used in fragrance which would be at a pretty low use in a topical (like <1% total where both the vanillin and benzyl benzoate could be components) so  the patch testing really will be important. Polymeric emulsifiers (like Sepigel 305, Simulgel NS, Sepiplus 400) will probably work similarly, difference will be feel. 

I don’t know how long you’ve monitored your formula for but vanillin discolors readily, might want to keep an eye out for that as well.

[EVchem]

Some products can have pretty drastic pH drift over time, depends on your system. The best way to tell is through testing. You could make one sample with buffer, one without, and leave  them in the same conditions for a few weeks. Compare pH of both every week or so

[EVchem]

@Graillotion -

•  Lotioncrafter often leaves the tradename of the product in their information, used them plenty of times and never had an issue. 
• Ingredients to die for I’ve seen before, never ordered but looks like they will provide SDS, tech sheet if they have it, and COA if you order a big enough size. So probably a decent site and if you’re a hobbyist making things for personal use you can probably get away without COA for everything.  
• Bulk AP we have looked at but it doesn’t seem easy to find paperwork on their site and I can’t remember if they provide COA.
• I hadn’t heard of makeyourown or brambleberry, but both look just fine for most items- thanks for showing me something new!

@lmosca very interesting, let us know what you hear back!

[EVchem]

That’s definitely possible but it depends on what kind of ingredients you want to include- did you have anything specific in mind or something you are trying to replicate?

[EVchem]

Haven’t used them before but the site does look polished enough that I would give them a try

[EVchem]

@Graillotion if you are that small I don’t know that a conference would be most helpful at the moment. You could try joining  a guild or other interest group (Society of cosmetic chemists if you meet the requirements). 

Other small quantity US vendors I know of (who can provide paperwork) are:
makingcosmetics.com
formulatorsampleshop.com
bulknaturaloils.com
theherbarie.com
mountainroseherbs.com
purebulk.com (a little non-traditional but they provide CoA and have  ingredients you may see customers request)
libertynatural.com
nobleroots.com

[EVchem]

The sodium benzoate /benzene fear would only be relevant for ascorbic acid, not a derivative  because this oil-soluble derivative would not break down under normal cosmetic conditions for any reaction to occur. Personally I think the whole ascorbic acid  creating benzene is just being exaggerated.
https://www.fda.gov/food/chemicals/questions-and-answers-occurrence-benzene-soft-drinks-and-other-beverages

If you are really concerned add a chelator (which you probably should add anyway) to tie up any free metals that could contribute

[EVchem]

you have to post more information to get help. What is your full formula? What temperature did you fill at?

[EVchem]

If you haven’t seen barnet’s presentation, they do  mention they tried a study at 30% that was more effective than 10 (but it looks like the sample size was 10 people…) 

you could try reaching out to them for substantiation on their claims, my guess is it’s some clever wording  that the BVOSC penetrates better than LAA, not necessarily more effective

[EVchem]

I’ve only been to suppliers day but I’d recommend it. Big names have big booths, but with the growing interest in ~natural~ products   makes me think most suppliers there will have some kind of offering geared toward that.  There were definitely some groups I hadn’t heard of before, but I’m still new to the industry

[EVchem]

PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil is nice too!
 but for the plantasol:
https://www.theherbarie.com/PlantaSol-CCG.html

[EVchem]

I’ve seen companies include SLES and other sulfates but market the product as ‘free of harsh sulfates’. We still make majority of our stock products sulfate free to circumvent complaints, but it either seems to be a given now or customers have moved on to new shocking ‘problem’ ingredients

[EVchem]

Sure that makes sense. Stop me at any time- i’m a fan of debating in the gray area that the US cosmetics seems to frequently operate in. 
If we accept separating extracts into  total water vs active then my next question is- what is that aloe ‘active’? Aren’t there going to be a multitude of molecules from any plant source?  Do you look for a specific compound, or perform loss on drying/HPLC on every similar extract to get the ‘true’ active %?

I’ve seen supplier breakdowns for extracts that say something like 90% water 10% extract. But isn’t that extract going to contain water as well? How far down the rabbit hole do I go to determine the actual level of a compound in my product?

[EVchem]

I can see that point, but aloe (like all extracts) would be difficult to really accurately label then wouldn’t it? If you had aloe 1x and added 10% to the formula, would you list it at 10%? By your logic, I think the answer would be no. But what would we then look to as the deciding factor in how to quantify the amount of extract?

 my main argument is that if you have 10% aloe 1x listed in a certain area on your IL, then putting 0.05% aloe 200x in makes the same concentration, so it should be able to go in the same spot.

[EVchem]

they are also ‘lying’/mislabeling.  But for aloe 200x I don’t really understand what is wrong with reconstituting and listing it as if you had bought 1x in the first place. If you took 200x and added water to make an equivalent amount of 1x and compared, would there be a noticeable difference? Nothing wrong in my mind with wanting to save on shipping costs by not paying for water when the end product is the same

[EVchem]

can’t help you without a rough idea of the formula and breakdown

[EVchem]

Haven’t worked with that emulium but the emulium kappa mb isn’t bad feel, still has the soaping problem though. It would be easily fixed by silicones.. 

[EVchem]

https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/science/index.html
https://www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/guidelines/disinfection/disinfection-methods/chemical.html

Isopropyl alcohol (20%) is effective in killing the cysts of Acanthamoeba culbertsoni (560) as are chlorhexidine, hydrogen peroxide, and thimerosal  (from the second link)

For the face cream you saw, isopropanol  near phenoxyethanol means near 1% and that would more likely be a solubilizer/solvent for some other ingredient

[EVchem]

don’t have firsthand experience but  what if they just reserved some small amount of the surfactant for the end to add with the fragrance?

[EVchem]

https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/it-cosmetic-drug-or-both-or-it-soap

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) defines cosmetics by their intended use, as “articles intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced into, or otherwise applied to the human body…for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance” [FD&C Act, sec. 201(i)]. 

This is the US regulation. Sometimes people make drug claims about skincare products though which is where trouble happens. 

The FD&C Act defines drugs, in part, by their intended use, as “articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” and “articles (other than food) intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man or other animals” [FD&C Act, sec. 201(g)(1)]

So if you say your hyaluronic moisturizer makes your skin look  fuller and hydrated- cosmetic. If you say your moisturizer will stimulate collagen, reverse oxidation, and enhance water rentention of cells- you are claiming the product as a drug.

Take a look at FDA warning letters about misbranded or adulterated  cosmetics to see real life examples

[EVchem]

Never seen any evidence  of that- did you see that information somewhere? Usually you need very high concentrations of alcohol (>60%) for adequate preservation. I found this paper from 2010 using 5% ethanol in combination with other preservatives, but I don’t think this paper is robust enough to actually determine if the ethanol was  truly helpful.
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/629f/e402ae18d7c597b95ef1467a34aea7a0d86a.pdf?_ga=2.91159578.1816399624.1581518977-1159633445.1581518977

[EVchem]

sadly  that method is not taken advantage of at the CM I’m at. Our top priority is usually quick turnaround, in which case making small changes to a preexisting formula is common as Bill said. Even for reverse engineer or fully custom requests where DOE could save a greater amount of time, we can be limited to small sample sizes of raw materials and the time just isn’t sufficient to do enough iterations.  And even Belassi’s point is great, the worst thing you can do is let materials expire on your shelf, but our organizational structure (or lack of it) lets this happen far too often in my opinion.

I’d love to know how single brand manufacturers work, I would hope they would take data collection and analysis and use it to actually improve long term.