[kivangel]

Hey @Perry44 and @MarkBroussard I would love your feedback on this, if possible. Based on your experience, do you have any recommendations for me? Thank you!

[kivangel]

Undissolved Allantoin needs to be fixed, as others mentioned by heating. Also, its solubility in water is around 0.5% so you are at the upper limit in your formula.

Since you say crystals formed only after adding Gluconolactone, I think this may be due to Sorbic Acid (from Potassium Sorbate) crystalizing out of your solution due to low pH. Check this out for more info:
https://www.jungbunzlauer.com/fileadmin/content/_PDF/PRINT_PROJECTS/Flyer/JBL_FL_How_to_use_Glucono-delta-Lactone_in_Personal_Care_2022-071.pdf
“Salts of organic acids used as preservative dissociate when added in solution. The addition of gluconolactone can lead to a drop of pH under the pKa. The undissociated form of the preservative becomes predominant (e.g. benzoic acid). Having a low water solubility, the acid form of the preservative starts to crystalize.”

[kivangel]

Thank you @Squinny for detailed info! With all the positive feedback I got here, I placed my order & I’m excited to receive it 🙂

[kivangel]

@ngarayeva001 thank you so much! That’s great to hear, especially about supporting documentation. I also found on their website some other exciting raw materials that I couldn’t find anywhere else!

[kivangel]

@jemolian thank you! I like Tridecyl Trimellitate suggestion & will try it. It seems like it will provide occlusion, shine & some viscosity, all of which I am looking for. If you have any tips on working with it in anhydrous formulas, I would love to hear.

[kivangel]

@Paprik thank you for all the info! I was wondering about raw material documentation, so that’s great to hear. I’m on their website & I can see what you mean by spending too much time browsing… haha… 

[kivangel]

@Graillotion thank you for the ordering tips! That’s good to know.

[kivangel]

@ngarayeva001 thank you for helpful suggestions.

Will octyldodecanol provide shine/gloss & occlusion sufficient for lips? I would prefer to use it over polyisobutene (I agree it’s very sticky).

I was looking into Diisostearyl Malate but couldn’t find it at a US-based small suppliers, like LotionCrafter, MakingCosmetics, etc. I never ordered from MySkinRecipes - do you know if they are reliable? Thanks!

[kivangel]

@natiyo123 I am diagnosed with allergic contact dermatitis to castor oil, which inspired my search for a replacement raw material. While it is considered safe for most, castor oil contact dermatitis certainly happens, as Perry & Microformulation explained.

[kivangel]

As @Graillotion mentioned, that lip balm is using Oleo-HA - oil dispersed hyaluronic acid. Castor seed oil & hydrogenated castor oil that you see in ingredient list are the other components of that raw material.

For your formula, I agree with others on lowering Vit E & I would also replace some of the solid butters with emollient oils like jojoba, castor, etc.

[kivangel]

@filiz what hair type is this oil for? Because it will be way too heavy for anybody except people with very textured, dry, frizzy, super curly hair. The concentration of oil is much too high. Similar to what others suggested, I would replace big part of the oils with dimethicone, isododecane, etc. Why do you want to increase viscosity? Hair serum being thin is usually a good thing, it improves spreadability. And some are packaged in spray bottles, so low viscosity can be desirable. 

[kivangel]

@Alex2022 If you have MS in Cosmetic Science companies will definitely be interested in you! The most important thing is whether you are passionate about this career. I started in cosmetic R&D at 30, with MS in Chemical Eng & no prior cosmetic experience. I didn’t work in formulation, but it was very easy for me to get a job with a great company.

While finishing your degree, I would focus on getting any job or internship in cosmetic industry. For ex. marketing intern for a cosmetic company, or being a sales rep at a raw material supplier - these would give you relevant experience & you would learn a ton about the industry. Good luck!

[kivangel]

@MarkBroussard Hi Mark! I enjoyed your Q&A webinar last week. Question about OTC status of colloidal oatmeal: a product is considered OTC only if it is making skin protectant or eczema claims, correct? But if these claims are not made, then a product can contain colloidal oatmeal without being OTC.

I see so many non-OTC products with colloidal oatmeal. Even more so, a company called Eczema Honey has Eczema Honey Nourishing Lip Balm & other products with colloidal oatmeal, that are not OTC (they don’t have drug facts sheet on their packaging). They also have National Eczema Association Seal. This is super confusing, as I would think having “eczema” in the company / product name would automatically be putting you in OTC category? Thank you!

[kivangel]

@Anca_Formulator I know this is an older post, but in case you still need this… I believe levels of butters & oil with low melting temperature are too high. Mango, babassu & murmuru all have relatively low melting points, so they can partially melt depending on ambient temperature & cause some of the issues you are seeing. Maybe also increase lecithin slightly, for better consistency. And cool finished formula quickly. Lastly (unrelated to the issue you are seeing) some antioxidant like tocopherol is needed to prevent oil rancidity.

[kivangel]

Thanks again @Zoya ! I just don’t get how some anhydrous, transparent oils I see on the market have ceramides & only plant oils in their IL & how were they able to incorporate that.

[kivangel]

Thank you for your feedback @zoya. I am heating to the temperature recommended by the supplier. For Dekasperse III distributor recommended 60-70C (I heated to 75C). I tried base formula with 50% CCT (still got the same result). Although Drunk Elephant formula contains only two plant oils (Marula and Soybean), so I am confused.

[kivangel]

Thank you for your feedback @Eliza

[kivangel]

Thank you so much for confirming that @chemicalmatt I appreciate your expertise! MySkinRecipes says on DMI product page that “DMI is suitable for conveying water–soluble ingredients.” LotionCrafter also mentions DMI transporting water–soluble actives into skin. Hence, my confusion. But today I talked to Grant Industries rep through UL Prospector, about their Gransolve DMI. They confirmed that DMI is used for both oil and water soluble actives. So that’s great news!

[kivangel]

Thanks again @MarkBroussard I will reach out to them!

[kivangel]

Thank you for your help @MarkBroussard! Do you have any experience working with them?

[kivangel]

Thank you for your feedback @chemicalmatt I appreciate it. All the suppliers I mentioned confirmed MOQ of 5,000 (except Mana & iLabs who are at 10,000) & each of them satisfies all of my criteria. So there is no reason for me to lower my standards for MOQ of 5,000, when there are plenty of options 🙂 I’ve worked in cosmetic industry for 10 years & I like to do things properly or not at all. I’m sure I will find a partner that fits my criteria. I’m just leaning in on the experience of our community here, to explore if MOQ of 2,000-3,000 pcs could be an option or not.

[kivangel]

Thank you @MarkBroussard I knew you’ll have good feedback! That doesn’t sound good with FMI. Did they make those changes to the formula without customer’s approval, because that’s unacceptable? Thanks for the recommendation, I looked into Precious Cosmetics before, but their website didn’t have a lot of info, so I skipped it. I will contact them to discuss.

[kivangel]

Thank you, David! I received your message.