[ngarayeva001]

Thank you @Fekher. The suppliers from which I order unfortunately do not have it. I will try my blend of parabens and phenoxyethanol together and hope for the best. I guess I finally have to order microbial kit for this… The benchmark product is preserved with parabens.

[ngarayeva001]

Guys, sorry for bringing it up, but please if someone has any experience with preserving clays, any advice is highly appreciated!

[ngarayeva001]

Again if you want to make it perfect it should be de-ionised. But I agree that  probably the difference wouldn’t be noticeable.

[ngarayeva001]

Distillation doesn’t remove all minerals. Chelating agent might be skipped in de-ionised water (in theory).

[ngarayeva001]

The reason why I asked “why is it in the water phase” is that I have a lot of difficulties with melting it (I believe it has higher melting point comparing to other emulsifiers that I use). Cetyl (and stearyl) alcohol are fatty acids. They add creaminess not shine. They would just make this product thicker. Think of cetyl alcohol the same way as cetearyl alcohol but with less “drag”.

[ngarayeva001]

None of them. You will not achieve your goal by adding fatty alcohols. What you need is more silicones. Add cyclomethicone. Also why Behentrimonium is in the water phase?

[ngarayeva001]

You need a combination of low HLB and high HLB emulsifyer. It all depends on your oil phase. Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Tocopherol are also part of your oil phase. Or just use polymers. You won’t need to calculate anything, just find a compatible one with % of your oil phase.

[ngarayeva001]

You need to provide the LOI with percentages. It is impossible to say anything with such a limited information available.

[ngarayeva001]

@Gunther parabens (at least the blend that I am using ) have a subtle ‘chemical’ smell. But it’s nothing in comparison to phenoxyethanol.

@NoviceKarel, EWG database isn’t the most reliable source. A lot of scaremongering without scientific proof.

[ngarayeva001]

I agree. I used to order ingredients from Amazon before (when I was looking for an ‘emulsifying wax’ instead of a particular INCI). No counterfeits but no high quality ingredient either.. Makingcosmetics started selling on Amazon.uk recently. More expensive but I have never had any issues with them. 

[ngarayeva001]

Do you have any water in your formula? If not will it be in any contact with water?

[ngarayeva001]

What is exactly your question?

[ngarayeva001]

I use lavender EO in a liquid hand wash. It is not my formula but, a duplication of a product that is sold in the Wholefoods in the UK. My biggest challenge is that lavender EO from different suppliers smells noticeably different. 
Benchmark product: https://www.avalonorganics.com/en/products/bath-and-body/hand-soap/lavender-glycerin-hand-soap/

[ngarayeva001]

I know by my quite limited experience that it might be very challenging to preserve clay. May be you want to consider making a powder product? I assume your raw material is powder?

[ngarayeva001]

Thank you @Belassi, I ordered my overhead stirrer from china and it works fine for small batches (all I need). I am just a bit concerned about buying active ingredients… But as it was mentioned, it’s impossible to find ethyl ascorbic acid from suppliers in the US (small amounts for crafters).

[ngarayeva001]

I try to keep it as safe as possible and only buy from the US and the UK suppliers. I had a bad experience even with Italian supplier (bought pretty affordable C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer that was virtually impossible to hydrate). I just can’t find ethyl ascorbic acid anywhere. Will follow Mark’s advice.

[ngarayeva001]

Thank you very much @MarkBroussard “Alibaba/EBay - that’s like buying drugs on the street …” this is exactly what I was thinking, but I was not sure (I thought may be I am biased).

I have some experience with MAP. Not easy to work with at all. Will research Tetrahexadecyl Ascorbate. Thank you very much again!

[ngarayeva001]

Sorry forgot to specify, I am a hobbyist. I need a small amount (50-150gr for example)

[ngarayeva001]

As per my experience, it should be hydrated in water first, but it all depends on your equipment. My overhead sirrer is not particularly powerful. 

@MarkBroussard, would addition of HA hydrated it in a small amount of water to the cool down phase affect the stability of the lotion?

[ngarayeva001]

I think too much of polysorbate 80. I would replace it to ceteareth-20 to improve the stability of the emulsion (if you want a second emulsifiers)

[ngarayeva001]

It’s not cationic. You are using nonionic surfactants. You need much less oil (1.5% max) cationic emulsifiers (behentrimonium chloride) some conditioner (cetrimonium chloride), lower the pH to 4.5-5, why so much of acid? What’s the % of the acid?

[ngarayeva001]

Is 43% an active surfactant mass? Maybe that’s the problem?

[ngarayeva001]

Test on humans save the rabbits! Jokes aside I agree, some things can be tested on volunteers.

[ngarayeva001]

https://youtu.be/5gEi1892mOI

[ngarayeva001]

@Christopher, Mark summarised it well, I will only add that it leaves skin moisturized unlike surfactant based cleansers (I know all emulsifiers are surfactants, I mean detergent type surfactants). It will not dissolve waterproof make up. Also, if you add ground walnut shells (pumice, other abrasives) you will make a pretty nice scrub.