mikethair
Forum Replies Created
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From what you describe, saying “Not all jars from the same batch have mold growth,” suggests it may not be a batch issue but could be something related to individual jars becoming contaminated. I would investigate the potential causes.
With your sister having eczema, adding propanediol, pentylene glycol and additional preservatives (Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate) will aggravate her eczema. Better to make the batch, dispense it into jars, and keep it in the fridge.
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I would also check the compliance requirements of the cosmetics regulatory authority for the country where you are located to check that the information you have provided conforms with what you have been provided here.
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Yes, absolutely.
Many years ago I was doodling and came up with the idea of a hydrating two-phase face mist. It had a water phase and an oil phase together in the bottle. Before use, it was shaken, thus mixing the phase temporarily, and then sprayed on the face.
I mentioned it to a brand we were manufacturing for that was distributed in China. We produced a test batch for them to test in the Chinese market. It took off, so we started manufacturing this product seriously.
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Before even thinking about the formulation, I would always start from a customer perspective, plus look at what other hair serums are in the marketplace. I see little point in duplicating products that currently exist in the marketplace, I suggest you look for gaps.
And in my thinking process, I would be looking at replacing the usual hair serum functional benefits with experiential ones. And at the same time develop your brand philosophy and identity, because that’s what people are buying into.
And bundle all of these thoughts into your formulation to redefine the hair serum category and set new standards - it will elevate buyers to a higher level of existence as well as price.
Simply then, don’t focus just on the formulation. Think of other factors that attract customers and elevate the price.
I am the co-founder of a skin and hair care manufacturing factory that we opened in Viet Nam and Malaysia in 2006. And the above are the lessons I learnt. We manufactured for brands globally, and the products we produced included hair oil.
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In our factory, we did just that, buy and fill bottles. In our approach, we took into account a few considerations.
First, was the visual appearance of the filled bottle. We tried a few variations and chose what looked best. So, not too full, not too empty looking.
Next, we declared the weight/volume on the front panel of the label. In our manufacturing, this then became the focus of our QC checks.
All of these parameters need to be well documented and put into your QC and production documents for your manufacturing and QC Manager.
And one point I forgot. We were exporting globally, initially, so we put the bottles through several temperature regimes to check that with heat the contents were not expanding to the extent that the bottle seals were being compromised.
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For kid’s linen mists using Lavender and Chamomile Hydrosols, I would be looking at an approach without the use of preservatives. We have done it, and the products sold well globally.
I should add that they complied with various global compliance requirements. We manufactured in a GMP Certified production facility with two in-house labs, a microbial lab and a physical chem lab.
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For many years I have used Ohaus in my manufacturing businesses and been very happy with their performance.
Also, in my consulting work globally, mainly in developing countries, I am required to procure weighing scales. Again, I have stuck with Ohaus. They have performed very well under the tough conditions in these countries.
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If we are talking biodegradable, I’ve gone one step further. We manufactured a liquid dishwashing soap by saponifying waste cooking oil. Yep, turned a waste product into something that cleaned dishes!!!
This product of ours sold very well globally.
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You could start with a Google search to find organic certifiers that meet your particular needs.
When we were manufacturing for various brands globally, some of the brands requested organic certification for the products we manufactured. But in the end, most did not take up the certification. The manufacturers realised that most consumers make decisions based not on third-party certifications but on the confidence they have in the brand and its integrity.
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Yes indeed. With the GMP certifications we complied with it was very clear that our QC Manager was not to be involved with formulation/production. This was certainly a focus during regular inspections by the government cosmetics compliance authorities.
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After about 20 years of starting a skincare brand, manufacturing, and exporting globally, I have realised some important truths.
You need to separate the formulating and manufacturing functions very clearly from the marketing and sales. One person can’t do both. I have found that the mindset of these is very different.
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Our bottles were supplied in large sealed plastic bags contained in cardboard cartons, so they arrived clean. We would do a visual check for dust and any other contamination. In the early days with our supplier, we did a microbial test for rinse water in our on-site microbial lab. We used the same bottle supplier.
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Sorry, despite my many years in skincare manufacturing and compliance work I am unfamiliar with the acronym “NOEL”. Makes me look like a fool I guess, but a more professional approach adopted by us scientists is that all acronyms are fully detailed once in any communication.
And you are entitled to your opinion re the safety of our product. The global compliance authorities differ.
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We had a use-by date of 12 months from memory. And very important was the container design to avoid contamination.
As was our practice with all products, a number were retained by our QC Manager and tested regularly in our two on-site labs, a physical chem lab and a microbiology lab. This testing went on for a period that was twice the stipulated shelf life. So with hydrosols 24 months as they had a shelf life of 12 months.
We never had any problems with the hydrosols.
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What you say is correct, inhalation does expose children to risk because of their higher body-surface ratio.
But remember, we were manufacturing in a GMP-certified facility that was regularly audited by government authorities. And exporting globally, so the product had to be assessed/passed by various cosmetic compliance regimes including those in the EU, Japan and the USA.
So, we were comfortable with the product safety.
Are you suggesting our product was unsafe? Can you suggest what more we could have done?
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I would disagree. Properly formulated natural essential oils in lip balms can have a strong fragrance. The secret is in the fragrance formulation. And should use essential oils that anchor the other essential oils, for example, benzoin as a fixative. This slows the dispersion of essential oils into the air.
Many of the base notes can be effective anchors.
Formulation with essential oils is an art that takes many years of practice and experience.
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Honestly, it has been some years and I don’t remember. We started all of this in 2006. Once set up and the parameters determined, it was managed by our QC Manager. Our company has now closed.
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The testing for safety, both incoming oil and cleaning liquid, was done in our two in-house laboratories (microbiology and physical chem lab) that were part of our GMP certification and therefore subject to frequent inspections by government officials as part of the continuing GMP Certification.
In addition, we sent samples to exterior-certified labs.
The colour of the incoming recycled cooking oil was a cloudy brown colour. This was strictly monitored by our QC Manager. And we never had any recycled cooking oil rejected on colour. Having said that, I have seen other recycled cooking oil that was black.
Regarding your comment:
“Reference to “fluid” rather than soap. Is that marketing - did you find consumer perception negative to “soap” in this context?”
Nothing to do with marking. We described the product as it was: Eco Friendly General Cleaning Liquid.
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Thanks for your very informative post, it is much appreciated. And yes indeed, using recycled oil to make soap has been around for a while. Again, I emphasise that our approach was a liquid for cleaning purposes only, not for body cleansing.
Yes, agreed, the quality of the re-used oil is very important. We were lucky here with the type of oil (palm oil) and the source. And at the time we had access to our in-house labs and we used external labs to do thorough testing.
And of not sure of the validity of where you draw parallels with parabens when talking about safety. Our approach was to thoroughly test our eco-friendly household cleaning liquid for safety and not draw any parallels. The safety of our cleaner was our prime focus.
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Yes, I think every context produces different demands on the product production and marketing/selling. In our case quality was paramount, and we were lucky here in the source of our recycled cooking oil.
Additionally, we outsourced the production of our household cleaning liquid to a group of intellectually disabled. I learnt that these people were very good at doing these types of repetitive tasks involved in liquid soap making. Therefore, in addition to producing a cleaning liquid made from recycled cooking oil, we were also able to have this group of intellectually disabled earn themselves an income.
And it became quite a good income stream for them. We marketed and sold the finished product, passing the income we paid them for our wholesale purchase.
We then encouraged them to sell the finished product under their brand, which further increased their income.
So, multiple agendas from our side, with the prime one being to provide an income for this group of intellectually disabled. And this group then went on to capacity-build others to do the same.
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No, it’s not new. We started producing about 20 years ago.
Perhaps you could elaborate on your statement “but don’t mind having very toxic aromatic compounds from cooking oil waste in their soap.”
And when you say soap, we only ever produced a cleaning liquid, which was a soap, but never a soap for cleansing the body.
And an important part of the process was our sourcing of the used oil. We only used from one reliable source that we thoroughly vetted. And then initially, samples were tested for any toxins.
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There are shipping issues when using non-rigid containers. Remember, we were shipping globally and the last issue we want is with containers leaking/breaking. We tried many options.
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In our Patchouli Lavender Face Wash, we use a formulation of 1.5% EOs (Patchouli, Lavender, Bergamot).
I should also add that this Face Wash base is made by saponifying extra virgin olive oil, so this is a lot different from your usual synthetic face wash base. And being made from extra virgin olive oil, it is very mild on the skin. Also, this base performs a lot differently concerning fragrances.
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And where would we be without plants?
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Microcontamination need not be a problem. You can use Hurdle Technology which has been used in the food
industry since the 1970s. It has also been applied to cosmetics.Hurdle Technology is the intelligent combination of different preservation factors. Combined, these will restrict Microbiol growth. However it must be applied by a qualified cosmetic scientist, and the production facility should have a laboratory for testing results.
The key elements of self-preserving cosmetics include strict good manufacturing practices (GMP). Combined with appropriate packaging, low water activity, and low or high pH values. These elements appropriately combined can restrict microbial growth in cosmetic formulations. Also important is the need to formulate with non-chemical multifunctional antimicrobial ingredients. These include plant-derived essential oils and extracts.
Essential elements also include production premises that are certified GMP. Every product must pass a Preservative Efficacy Test (PET) in an internationally certified laboratory. All products are microbial tested in your laboratory before being released by the QC Manager.