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  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 21, 2025 at 6:11 pm in reply to: does anyone make cosmetic supplements for internal use?

    First I would remove the word ‘cosmetic’. That is one of the lower standards in industry. I would elevate to ‘food grade’ if I were going to ingest it.

    A number of us take supplements that we hope for a positive outcome on our exteriors. The brilliant George Deckner once wrote a piece on this….let me get you the link.

    I take: lutein & zeaxanthin and astaxanthin and Hyaluronic acid with collagen orally every day, with my skin in mind.

    Oral Skin Care, Inner Outer Beauty - Prospector Knowledge Center

  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 20, 2025 at 1:28 am in reply to: Most well tolerated fragrances

    Humans are like snowflakes (in fact, some are SNOWFLAKES! ????). What that means….is there are no two alike. What bothers you…might not bother me…and Vise versa. So, you have asked a question that is difficult to answer, one that maybe you can only answer for and about yourself.

    That being said, the EU has delineated the most common of the allergens contained in essential oils and fragrance ingredients, and even preservatives. With essential oils…it is rather simple to find a GC-MS…and determine how much of these allergens are contained in a specific EO. The only value that will have… is it will give you some insight on the increased or decreased likelihood of the entire population, having any type of sensitivity.

    As we like to say….the poison is in the dosing. You can use some of these type ingredients….if you use it at low enough rates (EO’s / fragrances). Some people will not react…if you use many times too much….others will be intolerant to even the smallest amount. Typically, it is pretty difficult to make a cosmetic that the ENTIRE population will find suitable. Hence….you guessed it…. why there is more than one brand. ???? And why ‘unscented’ products are offered. This field extends well past fragrance…and can include about any possible ingredient in a formula.

    Good Luck.

    The attached link has the EU allergen list in the article. Just use that list…when you study the GC-MS of an essential oil. New allergen list - Cosmacon

    • This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 19, 2025 at 7:40 pm in reply to: Combining preservatives, how to mix, qty

    Maybe consider a slightly different approach. What I read into your comments is…. “Two things are better than one.” Granted there can be some truth in that statement, but more likely that will lead to having redundant strengths, and redundant weaknesses. You have on the line (Dr Phil Geis) one of the world’s foremost experts in cosmetic preservation. Utilize this opportunity to garner the information you actually need. (Please know…there is nothing wrong with redundance! It should be strived for.)

    Approach your questioning to Dr Geis more like this. I will start with a base of PE9010, which I know is proficient against Gram negative bacteria. Dr Geis…. What would you add (if anything) to shore up Gram positive? What would you add for the well-known weakness in the aspect of YMF?

    Asking the right questions in life….is always what got me to the desired outcomes and results. ????

    And please lose the ‘L’ brand. That is just embarrassing to see that mentioned on this forum.

    I came across this nice little piece I had saved a while back from some book I have….forget which one (who know…might even be from Dr Geis’s book) :

    • This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
    • This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 8, 2025 at 3:34 pm in reply to: Natural and Organic Beauty

    Pure lies…. you forgot to mention preservation. ????

    How many emulsions of small brand have you not seen, that did not even include an emulsifier.

    They believe the FDA only has time to fry the big fish. ????

    As they are selling to a ‘special’ clientele, they provide a special LOI. ????

  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 5, 2025 at 3:26 pm in reply to: Best humectant for lip balm

    Hyaluronic Acid, Oleo-HA | Lotioncrafter

  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 27, 2025 at 3:27 pm in reply to: Dark and Moody

    You love your Benzyl benzoate? ????

    • This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 25, 2025 at 3:09 am in reply to: Vegan NAG

    GlucoBright™ (Acetyl Glucosamine)

  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 21, 2025 at 4:05 pm in reply to: Ceramides are incredibly expensive

    Pseudo-Ceramides

  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 20, 2025 at 4:23 am in reply to: Natural oils and hair growth

    If they had discovered an oil that grew hair….think about it just for a moment… they would not be pedaling their wares online. They would be billionaires, living in Hawaii near me. Nuff said. ????

  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 14, 2025 at 8:12 pm in reply to: Electrolyte tolerant polymers

    As you did not give enough detail on what the intended use was…..it as difficult to give a thought. In the last year, I have almost swapped out all members of this category with Hydroxypropyl starch phosphate. Granted I only make emulsions. I was directed this way with my new affinity to cationic SPDMA, so this was the natural fit, and also allowed the inclusion of Sodium lactate in a formula.

    The polymeric companies… that advertise … ‘electrolyte tolerant’ … is often just good comedy. A relative term. Yes… about any polymeric is ‘more tolerant’ than Aristoflex AVC…. but is that ‘additional tolerance’ worth anything and the end of the day…. ‘Ell No!

    If you follow the normal formulating path/steps …. you often have no idea that you toasted your polymeric. There is an easy method to test. Just take water and a formula plausible amount of the gelling agent you are considering, hydrate, and evaluate viscosity. Then add the suspect ingredients….and see if any viscosity is lost. This will manifest almost immediately…..no waiting around.

    Good luck.

  • Graillotion

    Member
    February 22, 2025 at 3:22 am in reply to: What am I doing wrong? Moisturiser splitting/creaming

    I saw a gelling agent…. GMS, and a fatty alcohol and a thickener…(stearic).

    I wouldn’t expect that to hold much together. Stearic does not emulsify until it is converted to a stearate soap at high pH. (I missed the part about pH?) Were you counting on that?

    How are competitive benchmarks held together?

    • This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    February 17, 2025 at 10:43 pm in reply to: Using Magnesium oxide in deodorant

    Most beginners use magnesium hydroxide… maybe if you use that as your query you will get returns.

    Magnesium oxide when combined with water (sweat) has a pH of 10-11. The reason your do not get the pH burns that you got from baking soda is that it is far less soluble in water than the BS is. BS releases that horrible pH on the unspecting skin….all at once. The mags, due to solubility….might for lack of a better term …. be considered ‘timed release’ high pH.

    You seem to be grasping at random concepts you have seen around the net. TEC needs a low pH to function. You are not providing it, so it does nothing of what you think it is supposed to do. It is simply a high-cost ester in your package. Drop it.

    • This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
    • This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • I am sure that the food industry follows the cosmetic industry in regard to ‘tricks of the trade’. In cosmetics it is often the case that Vit E is added (adulterated) to oils that have sat in the system longer than was initially intended. Hence sometimes by the time it gets to the end user… adding any additional Vit E is already in the realm of pro-oxidant vs the desired realm of antioxidant.

    Hence, when I preserve oils that don’t originally source from ICSC out of Denmark, I focus more on ROE (Rosemary Oil Extract…. Not rosemary EO!), Ascorbyl palmitate, and one final option (that I don’t use) is sodium phytate. Since oils sourced from ICSC have unlikely (assuming no middleman) been adulterated with MT-E …. one can safely add a small amount of MT-E and still get the good from it.

    Mixing more stable oils…. do not enhance the stability of the less stable oils…. it simply reduces their inclusion rate… (not a bad concept).

    Oxidation…. can be visualized by a snowball rolling down (yeah, I see the irony of this illustration to someone from India) a hill. It starts small and increases in mass and speed. Oxidation is the same! Hence starting with the freshest oils…and treating them the moment you receive them (vs when you use them in formula) are all proactive steps you can take. Buy the smaller quantities, so you use them faster and replace them sooner. Last, but surely the most important….store your oils in the refrigerator.

    Good Luck.

  • Graillotion

    Member
    February 14, 2025 at 11:25 pm in reply to: Best emulsifiers combinaison

    I am at a complete loss. Why are you asking your emulsifier to bring the viscosity? I couldn’t imagine a scenario I would not appreciate more. Emulsifiers generally don’t feel that nice. They have ONE JOB…. to emulsify the phases. Let them do their job. You use only the amount it takes to accomplish a stable emulsion. What if you want a thin emulsion…and your emulsifier brough viscosity?

    This is why the 165 is sooooooooooo appreciated globally….. it allows an incredible range of viscosity; you simply thicken to taste. You thicken with things that feel nice….NOT emulsifiers. ????

    • Graillotion

      Member
      February 15, 2025 at 12:58 am in reply to: Best emulsifiers combinaison

      The best emulsifier combo is…. the one that holds things together for longer than the shelf-life of the product. It is also one that gives you the freedom to create any viscosity your project calls for. I use 165 to make thin lotions….or the thickest of creams….. because it holds thing together. The viscosity…..and how that is achieved….is a completely separate topic.

  • How about ethanol? That is so safe…I’ve actually even heard of people drinking it. ????

  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 21, 2025 at 6:02 pm in reply to: Most well tolerated fragrances

    Do you ever get the feeling, the group is getting ‘pranked’? I suspect so.

    Just a couple of weeks ago…the subject said ” Lavender ” never causes issues! I find it entertaining….but to a point.

    • This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
    • This reply was modified 2 months, 2 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 11, 2025 at 8:47 pm in reply to: One of my favourite essential oils

    They are the most skin hostile ingredients in all of cosmetics. And just AWFUL for those with any skin maladies. Just a cacophony of irritants and allergens.

    If you sell a product with these ingredients…. the least you can do is put the number for poison control on the product.

    It is the only group of things put into cosmetics, that require being run through a toxicity screen before using. I think beginners don’t like that kind of language…so they have gotten creative with the name of the toxicity screen….and call it something laughable like…. EO Calculator. ????

    Tea Tree Oil: Remedy and Poison | Poison Control

  • Graillotion

    Member
    April 11, 2025 at 1:00 am in reply to: One of my favourite essential oils

    How are 196 random, unvetted chemicals….on anyone’s ‘must have list’. No thanx!

    I’m a little dull…which of those 196 should I consider….a must have?

    GC_VetiverEO

    • This reply was modified 3 months ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 31, 2025 at 3:21 pm in reply to: Structure XL: Hydroxypropyl Starch Phosphate

    Means they are different in every regard. Different does not mean better or worse….just means different.

    Haptics are 98% subjective. Test it.

    I use Hydroxypropyl starch phosphate almost exclusively now, and I consider myself pretty picky. I was actually pushed into it…with my affinity to cationic co-emulsifiers and use of electrolytes.

  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 27, 2025 at 3:40 pm in reply to: Thickener for body lotion

    GMS SE is just GMS that they already turned into a soap. So, if you use at lower pH’s it functions as GMS. If you use at elevated pH’s, it remains an anionic emulsifier.

    So yes… you can ‘un-make’ the soap with the use of low pH.

    Inolex is one of the few companies…that will actually tell the truth in their marketing blurbs (sometimes).

    • This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    March 26, 2025 at 2:21 pm in reply to: My Deodorant Stick is sticky and doesn’t glide easily

    Of course TEC will not work at ALL for you. It is an ester of citric acid. You have a VERY high pH product. TEC won’t do what it is supposed to do above a pH of 5.5. The only purpose it has in a deo, is to maintain a low pH. You can laugh for the rest of the day now.

    You cannot mix and match…. concepts you find across the internet. You must pick a theme….and stick with it.

  • You seem to have a limited understanding of ingredients. I suspect you are thinking that Coco betaine and betaine are the same thing. Nothing could be more different. Betaine is a natural osmolyte humectant, that is just a magical (and edible) ingredient in skincare. I actually include 1 tsp of it in my morning coffee each day, as well as 2-3% in about every formula I make.

    I work with a beginner group, and they often assume if spelling is similar, or if part of the word overlaps…. they must be the same. Nope….not even close.

    The betaine in that listing also goes by the name of betaine, betaine anhydrous, or TMG betaine (Trimethylglycine). On an inci….is simply lists as betaine. Coco betaine can NOT be listed that way, correctly.

    Millions of Americans eat betaine, each and every day. Try some! Betaine Anhydrous Trimethylglycine (TMG) | TMG Supplement

    • This reply was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
    • This reply was modified 3 months, 3 weeks ago by  Graillotion.
  • Graillotion

    Member
    February 2, 2025 at 4:27 am in reply to: Looking for dry & non-greasy emollient - any recommendations?
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