[grayautumnday]

zetein said:

Xylitol is quite good. It’s a sufficient humectant and easy to buy, though could be tacky at high level same as glycerin…

Evaluation of xylitol as an agent that controls the growth of skin microbes: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Cutibacterium acnes

http://www.kjom.org/journal/view.html?uid=185&pn=lastest&vmd=Full#:~:text=Xylitol%20is%20a%20natural%20sugar%20alcohol%20that%20is,the%20presence%20or%20absence%20of%201%25%20%28w%2Fv%29%20and

Please note that Xylitol is a well known fatal toxin for dogs in *trace* amounts - the canine system perceives that sugar alcohol as an overdose of glucose and releases deadly quantities of insulin. AFAIK this effect cannot be reversed once started.

 I check ALL food and skin products for xylitol and will not bring them into my home. I volunteered at an animal shelter for many years and watched a dog die of trace xylitol exposure once. It was an extremely painful experience to watch that young puppy suffer and die.

 Anyone who has ever had a dog knows that dogs lick the skin of the humans they like and love. I have no idea why anyone would ever take a risk putting dog poison in skin care products, except if they don’t know about it.

https://pets.webmd.com/dogs/news/20151105/xylitol-dogs

[grayautumnday]

ngarayeva001 said:

There’s an easy answer. SCI isn’t supposed to be used at aqueous products at any significant percentage to make it primary surfactant. It will precepitate.

Is it possible to use SCI as a tertiary surfactant in a liquid skin or hair cleanser and still achieve a mostly clear product (lower precipitation probability)?

I have seen a MakingCosmetics surfactant blend (I think the primary was decyl glucoside) that is marketed for use in clear liquid surfactant systems.

I’m working on a hair/body wash commissioned formula for a nonprofit (use case - portable foot-pump hand wash stations in homeless encampments) and the combination of mildness, rinsability with less water, and lower materials cost are all issues.

(I would post a separate thread, except this already exists specifically to discuss SCI)

[grayautumnday]

Hi all! Autumn here. Long time lurker, new member.

1.  What’s your background?  

- Carpet/upholstery cleaning, stain removal

- fiber artist (dyeing, spinning, weaving, etc)

- candle making, soap making, customized base nail polish enamels, hair coloring/bleaching (treatment of hair damage), pressed powder & cream cosmetics, personal care and home care formulation in general 

- (on myself) acrylic (monomer activated acrylic powders) and uv gel false nails

- I have several skin challenges (autoimmune, acne/spider vein/ocular rosacea, seb derm, oily skin, stubborn fungal overgrowths with infrequent need to take antibiotics 

2.  What are you most interested in?

Right now, clear liquid surfactant systems for skin cleansing.

3.  What are you trying to accomplish in your career and life?

I’m working to reduce costs and efforts involved for a highly concentrated liquid hand wash. When I have a working formula that meets low cost requirements (materials, manpower), I will be making 10 x 5 gallon batches for the first order.
Needs to
- require very small amounts of product
- least disturb natural skin anatomy
- rinse well with minimal water
- effective in very hard local tap water
- doesn’t clog small plastic drain hoses
- low cost in materials and manpower.

Use Case:
portable hand-washing sinks at homeless encampments. The sinks are provided by a nonprofit organization who hired my employer — a hand sanitizer bottling company— to make the “soap”.
- My employer has tasked me with creating 2-3 test products to choose from with cost breakdowns for each.