[evchem2]

Not sure if I’m reading your post right, but add the carbomer first and give it time to hydrate in water (you can add your glycols as well) but stay away from cationics/ actives until carbomer is hydrated. What is the final pH you are adjusting to?

[evchem2]

I’d second Phil’s point- and can you clarify what exactly is ‘egg powder’

[evchem2]

We might need to hear more about your system to be most helpful. Can you at least list the other ingredients in your formula? Isoamyl laurate, triethyl citrate can help with tack. Is it actually tackiness  (that sticky feeling), can you describe the sensory feeling you are unhappy with more?

[evchem2]

It’s likely the carbomer, if the pH is 4-5 they aren’t neutralizing it fully and that may be pilling and giving the appearance of skin flaking off. How much carbomer were you using and what grade, and were you staying in the same pH range?

[evchem2]

Increasing viscosity can definitely help with suspension even if it just delays the amount of time before you see settling. You could also look to match density of your particulates to the liquid phase, or get even more in-depth and account for size of particulate and an ‘allowable’ rate of separation (the velocity) to figure out what viscosity you need your liquid to be (stokes law)

[evchem2]

@Pharma do you have any literature on the alkyl benzoate interphase interaction? Is that just based on the structure?  I’m a little confused since most sites I’ve seen say it has a ‘required HLB’ near 13.

[evchem2]

What’s the final pH of the product and do you monitor pH over time

[evchem2]

https://www.cpkelco.com/products/pectin/genu-phresh-pectin-i-cp-kelco/

There are certain grades marketed for cosmetic use (see link), but Mark is generally right.

[evchem2]

I like ketchitos suggestion, you could do the same to evaluate your concern of homogenisation damaging your final viscosity- Split the batch and homogenize half as you normally would. If it’s really for a few seconds I doubt there would be a noticeable impact, but that’s what experimentation is for.

I always add xanthan gum and other hydrocolloids to the water phase relatively early on- these gums need time to hydrate and they tend to swell better in pure water (or as close to it as you can get). 

[evchem2]

I think the important things to consider are consistency in the testing method first and foremost. You do want your torque to be in a ‘good’ range for the instrument you are using so your readings are reliable. Second why do you want to characterize viscosity- is this an internal QC parameter you want to meet? Is the speed you are choosing correlated to some processing step (pumping through a tube, mixing) that you need to understand your formulations properties during?

[evchem2]

@ketchito thank you, I meant in a system where you were already using polymeric thickeners would you still see the effect from polyols?

[evchem2]

Thank you @MapX ! So they are in fact competing in micelle formation? Would you see this drop in viscosity if you have polymeric stabilizers/thickeners in the formula 

[evchem2]

Have you tried thickening with just salt? and are the percentages for your surfactants  the active matter %? CAPB often comes as ~30% solution for example

[evchem2]

you could also try replacing the HEC with xanthan gum since that has synergy  with guar and can create increased viscosity.  I’d try a ratio of 1:3 xanthan: guar.

[evchem2]

you may need to adjust your pH to slightly acidic before you add surfactants to let the guar fully hydrate

[evchem2]

Happy Birthday Perry! Really appreciate the forum you’ve put together

[evchem2]

Pullulan is an excellent film former at higher use levels, but it’s pretty expensive especially compared to PVA

[evchem2]

Second the zeolite suggestion by chemical matt.

Tangentially, you could also use methyl nicotinate. It is a rubefacient first so expect some reddening of the skin along with slight tingling. Also less is definitely more in this case, it doesn’t take much to produce decent effect.

[evchem2]

 I don’t put full stock in the HLB system, but your only emulsifers have a somewhat low HLB, you could try adding in something higher to balance out. Also 5% of both of those is likely overkill, try cutting them in half. Also, how long after finishing the mix do you wait before you put the sample in the oven?

Likely unrelated to your issue, but is your vitamin E the acetate form or tocopherol?

[evchem2]

@Paprik do you have any literature/ source on XG swelling better in acidic media? Haven’t heard that before, I would have expected since it is anionic that acidity would not help hydration

[evchem2]

Seconding the 1% Orange EO- I’d go even further and say knock it out completely first and see if you still feel tingling.

[evchem2]

Ah yes if you have CBD isolate in there you will see a pinkish color after light exposure- not sure exactly what it’s degrading to but I saw the same thing when formulating a CBD line. You may not have your CBD as uniformly dispersed as you hope, especially since your oils don’t seem like the best to dissolve the CBD- try MCT oil.

[evchem2]

You can order it off spectrum chemicals but they likely won’t ship to residential addresses. Other questions that come to mind- why do you want to use ZPT, and are you making this for personal use or do you intend to sell/distribute (in what country)?

[evchem2]

Without knowing what’s in the formula it’s hard to help, but CedarS makes a good point-have you performed PET  on your product?

[evchem2]

Not exactly the same but Croda’s guidance on inorganic sunscreens may help you here.