[Paprik]

Regarding the preservative - I’ve heard that methylparaben is fungicidal, however in creams and lotion can be broad spectrum.  
I think the easiest one to work with is Liquid Germall Plus. Affordable, effective and almost fool prove. 

[Paprik]

Hi,

what else are you using as preservative? What else is in the formula?

EU limit for benzyl alcohol is 1% max. 
We can’t really tell you, for example, that 0.78% or 0.48% would be enough. PET would need to be conducted. 
If it’s homemade, I would stick to the upper limit, however benzyl alcohol wouldn’t be sufficient as the only preservative. In other words, it’s not a broad spectrum preservative. 

Hope that helps.

[Paprik]

Hi,
how much of the olive oil are you using? 
Do you realize there is NO benefit other than claims? And it can destabilize your product or mess with the effectiveness? 

Use the olive oil in 0.01% just so you can claim it’s there and solubilize the fragrance in the superfatting agent. This won’t affect the stability, nor performance. It will only help it.

If you could also post full formula, that would help. 

[Paprik]

elham said:

Microformulation said:

If you post the Formulation with percentages, you will get better answers. I would guess it is likely an issue with the Niacinamide and you should research this issue closer. However, without percentages this is simply a guess.

glycerin  2%

tea tree oil 0.05%

niacinamide 0.5%

peg-7glycerl cocoate 2%

cocoamphoasetate 2.5%

preservative phenoxy ethanol 0.2%

That is not the whole formula. This is only 7.25% in total. Is the rest water? 
Phenoxyethanol is not a “broad spectrum” preservative. Especially at 0.2%. This product is mostly water with great food sources for microorganism. 
Is the pH 4.7 required for some reason? Consider make it more skin “friendly” and adjust it to around 5.5. 

[Paprik]

What about antioxidant and preservative?
It could also be the tea tree oil. 
Without percentages we can’t really help. Post FULL formula please. 

Have you tried it on someone else? 
Also the pH is little bit too low in my opinion. I would stick to pH close to 5.5-6 due to presence of Niacinamide. 

[Paprik]

@Perry - Sure. Page 59 - conclusion.

https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_012.pdf

[Paprik]

SCCS opinion:
Leave-on hair care products up to 1.0%

Leave-on facial cream products:

sum of cetrimonium chloride
and steartrimonium chloride up to 0.5% 

EU:
As preservative : 0.1%.

Hope that helps

[Paprik]

Hi Mel,
the main difference would be the amount of active matter of surfactants. 
Shampoo - typically around 10 - 15%
Body wash - typically around 15 - 20%.
Please remember, this would be the main, but not the only reason. You have many actives that go well into shampoo, but would feel weird on the body skin and vice versa. 

Hope that helps a little  

[Paprik]

Hello,
my thoughts - You are missing an antioxidant. Shea butter, olive oil, sunflower oil, those need antioxidant to prevent any rancidity. It’s also a good practice to include rheology modifier to the formula to improve stability. 
Try to work on that. After that, try to make the cream and see how it feels, what the rub-in time etc. You should conduct stability testing, as you are mixing polar and non-polar lipids.

Hope that helps.

[Paprik]

Hi Alex,
you are basically asking us to make the formula for you. If you need help with formulating, you can talk to some chemist directly and maybe buy some consultation time. 
https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/#/discussion/137/need-formulating-services-here-are-some-contacts
Or try to input your percentages, let’s see if you know what you’re doing and we can help you to check the formula.  

[Paprik]

I would maybe use Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate (Fungicidal). 
Recommended use 0.1-0.3%. pH 2-10.
You can get it from the same supplier - Lonza. Trade name Glyacil L
 

[Paprik]

I hope I can correctly answer those questions for ya
1) I would air dry it in a clean room. If you wipe it, you can introduce debris or other contamination. 
2) I think they would be the same in matter of effectiveness. Ethanol is probably harder to get, because it’s considered drinking alcohol. So isopropanol is better choice, at least for me. 
3) There won’t be any residue. Both ethanol and isopropanol will fully evaporate. 

[Paprik]

Cool, thanks. That it what I’m doing. I have a small washing machine with “baby bottle function” only for my equipment. But I do wash them first manually with hot soaps water. And I’m using isopropyl alcohol afterwards. So I should be fine thanks guys!! 

[Paprik]

Uhm … I don’t? Hehe, I think I need to make my beakers and spoons,etc sterile for making cosmetics. To not contaminate my products. ? 

[Paprik]

Hello, where are you from? I’m getting this from https://www.thesourcery.co.nz/ , New Zealand. Hope that helps. 

[Paprik]

What I’ve just learnt from my study with IPCS is that Vit E should be added below 40°C. However, when pouring hot products, balms for example, you can add it into molten product, but at as low temperature as possible, as the heat will oxidize it. Also, you should count with the oxidizing effect and increase the input of the Vit E. 

Hope that helps

[Paprik]

Hi @Dan, you can only use low shear. Otherwise you will irreversibly cut the “nets” that Carbopol has formed and you will lose the viscosity. 

[Paprik]

Look at this table. It could help you maybe a little bit with choosing the right one.

[Paprik]

Hi, you basically need some stabilizing agent. In other words, you need to create a “net” that holds the particles and doesn’t let them move. 
I haven’t tried this on my own, but I’d say some polymer or gum (higher input) would help.  

[Paprik]

Hi, I’m using Sodium Cocoyl Methyl Isethionate with Cocomidopropyl Butaine and the foam is super creamy and dense. At least to me. And it’s also super gentle on the skin. Sometimes I add Coco Glucoside just to boost the foam. 

[Paprik]

Regarding the preservative, we really can’t really tell. 
Kaolin is considered a high risk ingredient, so very robust preservative system is a must. Especially if the product would be in a high risk packaging - open neck jar, where customers will dip their fingers into.
Therefor I would suggest also chelating agent to support the preservative. 
PET (preservative efficacy testing) would need to be conducted to make sure it will be effective for the products’ shelf life. 

[Paprik]

So all of them are exthoxylated surfactants. The higher the number, the more moles of ethylene oxide was used. E.g. 20 means 20 moles. You are basically making them more water-loving. 

[Paprik]

Yeah, it should be Water in Oil. Meaning it’s primary emulsifier for water in oil emulsions (It has low HLB ~5., however it can be used as co-emulsifier for O/W emulsion or as a thickener. I don’t see any “SE”, that would indicate that it’s self-emulsifying. 

A note, Glycerol Monostearate is the name, but its INCI name is Glyceryl Stearate. 

[Paprik]

You need to heat both phases a bit over (5-10°C) melting point of your waxes. If you won’t have water hot enough and you pour it into the oil (which I also prefer, as the beaker doesn’t need to be hot enough at the top and the waxes will start to solidify), you risk getting “waxy water”. Your waxes can sit and you won’t be able to create a smooth glossy emulsion. You basically won’t have enough time to properly emulsify (if that’s what you doing). 

[Paprik]

No, Glycerin doesn’t work as solubiliser. Solubiliser is basically liquid surfactant with very high +15 HLB. Glycerin is not a surfactant. 

Could you maybe share where you’re getting the information from?