gfeldman
Forum Replies Created
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As @Benz3ne said, a lot of TiO2 could outweigh the yellow.That said, I think the best approach is to swap out your deeply yellow ingredients (I’m guessing low quality oils) with clear (esters) or light yellow (better quality) ingredients. That will be a cost effective and rapid solution. -
A lot of people use QS for the volume of water, myself included. So if I write QS where the water is on the formula sheet, that means that I brought the final volume back up to 100% (because water evaporates off while batching).This is the same as “up to 100%” but much shorter to write. When you are batching on a daily basis, like I do, shorter is better.
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I would agree with @crisbaysauli that staying in the industry and gaining experience (even if you are are QC chemist) is certainly worthwhile. The degree will be of equal if not more importance though. Experience as a QC chemist will give you an understanding of how manufacturing & production operates, and theoretically you should be interacting with R&D as well. This is valuable during any interview if pitched correctly.
I’m also a formulation chemist in Indianapolis fyi, so after you get that degree send word my way
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@Kirk Thank you for pointing out what it is called! I feel like I had known that at one point and then forgot…
I have tried with two different emulsifiers, Glyceryl Stearate and Avalure Flex-6. Both of them soaped. I actually thought it was the emulsifier as well until the avalure formula had the same thing happen.
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OK, I really had to think on this one, but after some brainstorming I believe Lecithin is both endogenous to human skin and an emulsifier. What do you guys think?
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@chemicalmatt thanks for the fun fact on the “PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil!”
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According to the PCPC Aminobutyric Acid (gaba) is readily available and is considered a skin conditioning agent. Not only that, there is reliable literature on pubmed indicating that it may be effective. Goes without saying, but I would suggest not claiming this effectiveness (as a fact) on your product (aka not a drug).
J Invest Dermatol. 2002 Nov;119(5):1041-7.gamma-Aminobutyric
acid (A) receptor agonists accelerate cutaneous barrier recovery and
prevent epidermal hyperplasia induced by barrier disruption.Denda M1, Inoue K, Inomata S, Denda S.“These results suggest that the gamma-aminobutyric acid (A)-like receptor
is associated with skin barrier homeostasis and regulation of the
receptor clinically effective for barrier dysfunctional or epidermal
hyperproliferative diseases.” -
I could give it a try. I can imagine how the stearyl alcohol’s presence would inhibit a crystallization matrix. Thanks for the suggestion @Bobzchemist!
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Does he not need some kind of oil in silicone surfactant to keep them together? I do not know of a good one off the top of my head, but I believe that would be what is required here. You guys have any suggestions?
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Agreed @chemist77, that is a great description @t4m456. Thank you for sharing.
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@nitana Unless you have high shear capabilities, I would suggest using a coated form of Zinc Oxide. It can then be dispersed in either your oil or water phase dependent on the coat (typically oil phase).
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(sorry, used slang, by newbies I mean those who are not terribly familiar with chemistry)
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@pushent I would be glad to give you a quick lesson in cosmetic chemistry for the price of lunch
I live in Indianapolis, Indiana so it should be pretty convenient for you too! Also, on the side of my day job, I teach introductory college chemistry (so hopefully at this point I’m pretty good at teaching newbies). My area of expertise lies in lotions and not so much detergents/shampoos, but I have a good enough grasp on the chemistry behind them that I believe I could be of help.
If you want to get in touch, send me a PM and I will give you my contact info.
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@mikebavington Hi Mike,
First of all, thank you for the kind suggestion to @vnatale87. I think it is good advice on how to start out. I am trying to follow that advice as well, but I am encountering some difficulties.
In particular I am trying to look up wholesalers in my state (Indiana), but I cannot seem to figure out how to use NAICS to obtain a list of cosmetic merchant wholesalers (code# 424210)? Were I to be able to locate this list of industry businesses, I would then like to be able to narrow it by location. Is this possible? Could you please, as a very kind favor, provide a link if available?
Thank you for your help. I am looking forward to your feedback.
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@perspicacious I believe @bobzchemist was referring to the testing of cosmetics and not the individual RAW materials used in cosmetics. Cosmetics, in the US at least, are not tested on non-humans for skin or eye irritation.
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@David I would suggest selecting the continuous phase as the phase that the active is soluble in.
@Bobzchemist I do believe that the phase the active is added to could make a difference, I am still uncertain about delivery, but for efficacy…
Rationale (mostly speculation based on my work with proteins, small molecule drugs, and microsphere controlled release); If you add the active to oil or water phase before mixing, then during droplet formation the active will likely partition between both phases multiple times (this also introduces mechanical stress). When the active is at the interface between the oil and water phase it will be under significant stress which could very well degrade the molecule (chemical stress).
If you add the active after the droplets have formed then it will easily solublize and disperse into the continuous phase with less mechanical stress and chemical stress. Alternatively, if it were not soluble in the continuous phase then I could imagine a mess of actives stuck at the interface or even forming small nanodroplets of themselves surrounded by water, either way.. not ideal.
For a great leap forward in active delivery/stability I would suggest a W/O/W or O/W/O delivery system, but that is beyond most formulators needs.
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@ David If you are concerned about topical delivery, have you considered looking into penetration enhancers?
Common penetration enhancers are propylene glycol and ethanol, but there is a wide variety of molecules that use various functions to help deliver actives. Please be cautious when using penetration enhancers though (and especially with associated claims) as you do not want to turn your product into a drug.
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@David Thank you! I agree. Although, I believe that the phrase “Not tested on animals” should not be allowed as it is in fact scientifically incorrect.
For giggles, to correctly state it; “Not tested on non-consenting animals” or “Tested on consenting humans only.” “No animals other than humans were harmed in the production of this lotion.” LOL
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@Belassi My brother was trying to talk me into producing something like this (a lotion, to be produced and sold in Colorado) and I told him it wasn’t possible (for me) because it would be considered an OTC.. was I wrong??
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@markbroussard Interesting article, thank you for sharing.
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@laskedbetter Good old common definition versus biological definition. I like your explanation quite a bit though.
Your explanation points at another topic that disturbs me quite a bit, “organic” products. By scientific definition if something contains carbon atoms then it is organic, but by public definition.. well public definition varies on it quite a bit, but the current definition is something along the lines of a non-GMO product that was not synthesized or grown with the aid of chemical compounds.
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@ledude thank you for sharing your experience with the cellulosic thickeners.
I use cellulose based thickeners as secondary thickeners on occasion and I have been exploring the idea of using them as a primary thicker as well. Many of my formulations require low pH’s (3-4) though, so I am curious, do cellulosic thickeners function well at this low of a pH? If so, which would you recommend as a primary thickener?
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@pma thank you for bringing up this question. I was just wondering the same thing.
@Perry & @milliachemist have either of you found a benefit in using diglycerin (DG) over glycerin? Because it is a less common item, I’m certain that diglycerin is going to be more expensive. Do you believe that there will be an advantage from a humectant standpoint? I imagine that there will not be as the larger structure of DG looks as though it will prevent it from penetrating as deeply/rapidly into the stratum corneum and it has a lower ratio of OH/surface area.
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@milliachemist I would love to increase the amount of polymer, but that will increase my initial thickness which is not something that I would desire. What other alternatives would you suggest?
@Jeannie Thank you for the suggestion. That is roughly what I was considering doing, but I am afraid of introducing too much drag to the lotion if I start adding all these long chain alcohols to increase the heat stability. Right now it spreads like crazy, which is what I want. I will start with increasing the level of gum, but do you have any additional suggestions? Also, with regards to the Olivem1000 (which I like), I’m sure you already know this, but it is a bit hard to completely dissolve that stuff. I always heat it to 80C and keep it there for a while with some stirring before adding it to my water phase.