Forum Replies Created

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  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    July 6, 2024 at 8:15 am in reply to: “redness relief” claim

    “Redness relief” is a vague enough claim that it would probably be ok in the US. They could just mean that when you use the product, you feel better about the redness. It doesn’t actually have to do anything to actually change the redness.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 27, 2024 at 8:52 am in reply to: Color Issue When Scaling Up

    Yep, it’s most likely a mixing issue. If you’re using purple you’re likely using a non-water soluble dye? If it is water soluble then you can first mix the colors in water and then add it to the main batch.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 25, 2024 at 7:38 am in reply to: Seeking critique of my formula and methods

    I see a few problems with your formula.

    1. You include too much essential oil. The whole purpose of a shower gel is to REMOVE oil. When you put oil in your formula you cause two problems. First, you reduce the amount of surfactant available to clean the surface. Second, the essential oil is already tied up in a micelle and will just rinse down the drain. It is a complete waste of resources to include an essential oil, especially since you already have a fragrance! There are only two reasons to include an essential oil in a cleansing product. You need it for the odor or you want to tell a marketing story. If it’s a marketing story, you only need to add like 0.1%.

    2. If your home stability test did not involve a Preservative Efficacy test then you haven’t really done a stability test.

    3. Determining the correct amount for a 2-year shelf life is done just how you’re doing it. Use the highest amount you can safely add. Then when you find that is effective you can try to optimize the formula by using less. Of course, for that preservative you also need to keep the pH near or below 5.0 since Sorbic acid is one of the ingredients.

    4. Niacinamide is water soluble. It is simply rinsing down the drain and doing nothing in your formula. Using it at 1.5% is just a waste of money. In a rinse-off cleanser, it is what is known as a “claims” ingredient. You put a tiny amount in there to get consumers to buy the product. It doesn’t have any effect on the skin.

    The separation is most likely caused by the essential oil separating. Reduce the level since it is a pointless ingredient anyway.

    Finally, if you are going to sell the product you need to have it stability tested by an independent lab. Home stability testing is just not appropriate for a commercial product.

    Hope that helps!

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 24, 2024 at 12:08 pm in reply to: Looking for chemist opinion on Soap PH x Skin PH

    People have been washing their faces with soap for nearly 2000 years. I think if it caused a significant amount of damage, we would have noticed by now.

    But I imagine if a person did a lifetime half-face test where they washed one side of their face exclusively with soap and the other with more gentle, non-ionic surfactants, they might see a slight difference. Although, the impact of UV exposure, gravity, aging and the environment are much more significant contributors that even if they ran this experiment, they wouldn’t see any significant difference.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 20, 2024 at 1:46 pm in reply to: Help with a company for my clients

    Identifying a good contract manufacturer is a key first step. Also, identifying benchmarks of products they want to emulate is crucial.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 17, 2024 at 3:26 pm in reply to: Can i use CMI MI & formalin in this?

    Agreed. I wouldn’t use CMI or MI for leave-on products. Even ones that would be wiped off.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 11, 2024 at 8:18 am in reply to: acid value dropped from 18.9 KOH to 0?

    Acid value test tells you how much free fatty acids are in a sample. If you got a 0 result I would make sure they ran the test again. That is an incredible drop. If the result is real it means there was some significant oxidation (poor storage conditions) or microbial contamination. Either way I think the material would smell weird. Most likely it was just a bad test.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 10, 2024 at 8:18 am in reply to: Production result different

    You use different mixing equipment, you shouldn’t be surprised if you get different viscosity.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 5, 2024 at 9:05 am in reply to: How to work with Bakuchiol, alpha arbutin and kojic acid

    I’ll start by telling you that an ingredient like Bakuchiol is primarily a “claims” ingredient. It is put in formulas at tiny levels just so marketing people (and the media, bloggers, etc.) have something to talk about. The ingredient does not actually have a consumer noticeable impact on performance. That is why the real answer to all your questions is “do whatever you want because it doesn’t really matter.”

    But if we pretend it does matter, here are my thoughts.

    1. The reported pH range should be pH 5.5 - 6.5. This supposedly maximizes stability but honestly, there is little evidence to prove this is true. A level of 1.5% is a fine enough starting point. If you want to save money, 0.15% is enough too.

    2. The supposed optimal pH range for AA is 3.0 - 3.5. It needs to be in the acid form to “work” so this makes sense. 1.8% or 1.0% likely makes no difference. The AA will steadily oxidize in your formula so after a couple days you won’t have any active AA in it whether you use 1.8% or 1.0%.

    3. Again, this is just a number someone writes in a paper. Without knowing what you mean by “functions best” it’s hard to say. I can say whether it’s at pH 3.5 or pH 3.0 or 4.5, you personally won’t notice any difference. It’s not an ingredient that provides consumer perceptible differences in my opinion.

    In truth, the best thing you can do for your skin is moisturize daily and use sunscreen. None of these “active ingredients” will have a noticeable impact on your fine lines and wrinkles beyond what a moisturizer is going to do. You also won’t remember what your face looked like 2 or 3 months ago. If you’ve done all the work of applying product daily and you’re paying more attention to your face, of course you’re going to think that it looks better. In truth, it probably looks the same.

    However, if the routine of using products and paying attention to your face makes you feel better and think it looks better, than keep doing what you’re doing. Reality does not matter as much as how you feel.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 2, 2024 at 8:46 am in reply to: For each case one specific product need stability test for quality control?

    I’d say when in doubt, do a stability test.

    For these specific questions.

    1. I’m not sure what you mean but yes you need to test every new formulation. You should also test when you have new packaging.

    2. Yes, every new production setup should be tested. But you don’t have to test every batch if you are using the same equipment each time.

    3. No, but if you change suppliers than you should do a stability test.

    4. Whenever there is a change in manufacturing, packaging, raw material supplier you should do stability testing.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 27, 2024 at 9:11 am in reply to: About Proteol APL

    If you want a useful answer you should list out all the ingredients in your formula.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 24, 2024 at 8:55 am in reply to: Need Help on formulating Clear Facial Cleanser with Dense Creamy Foam

    Glucoside based and other non-ionic surfactants do not thicken with salt. You’ll need something else like maybe a Cellulose thickener. If you have salt in your system a Carbomer thickener will not work either.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 24, 2024 at 8:41 am in reply to: Hair pomade formulating

    Here is the ingredient list.

    AQUA, GLYCERIN, STEARIC ACID, HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL, CYCLOMETHICONE, MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX, CYCLOTETRASILOXANE, CANDELILLA CERA, VP/VA COPOLYMER, PVP, POLYACRYLAMIDE, C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN, LAURETH-7, PHENOXYETHANOL, CAPRYLYL GLYCOL, SODIUM STEAROYL GLUTAMATE, PARFUM (AROMA), SODIUM HYDROXIDE, TETRASODIUM EDTA, CARAMEL.

    I’m afraid you are missing significant ingredients.

    You have nothing in your product to give hold. That is VP/VA COPOLYMER & PVP in the original formula. Also the waxes will help with “movable” hold.

    Additionally, you have no silicones in your version so the application and feel will be completely different.
    At the very least, you’ll have to add PVP to your formula to give it some hold.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 24, 2024 at 7:42 am in reply to: Preservatives in food grade makeup diy?

    Yes, product contamination is the concern, not mold on peoples faces.

    But it’s still not a good idea to use them.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 22, 2024 at 9:39 am in reply to: Analysing Garnier shampoo ingredients

    If it’s clear, likely the smallest particle size. SME253 goes down to 20 nm particle size, although it’s a blend so they don’t use that specific ingredient in this formula.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 20, 2024 at 4:04 pm in reply to: Amodimethicone

    Yes, it’s safe

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 20, 2024 at 4:01 pm in reply to: Formulation

    Sure.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 20, 2024 at 3:58 pm in reply to: glow effect

    Silicones should work, but without sharing a list of ingredients you’re already using we can’t give much more helpful advice. There isn’t a single “increase glow” ingredient.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    July 2, 2024 at 7:53 am in reply to: Upcoming claims webinar for free

    Hello Chelsea & @paprik

    You can see a replay here. https://vimeo.com/969701362?share=copy

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 28, 2024 at 10:30 am in reply to: Upcoming claims webinar for free

    Yes, if you signed up you should get an email alerting you to the replay. If you don’t get it within a couple days let me know and I’ll post the link here. The replay is being edited at the moment.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 25, 2024 at 10:24 am in reply to: Upcoming claims webinar for free

    You’re right! I fixed it. Thanks

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 11, 2024 at 8:06 am in reply to: Production result different

    Lots of things can impact viscosity including…different mixing conditions, different raw materials, different amounts of ingredients used, etc.

    Ideally, you should not be making many adjustments so set the specification such that you minimize adjustments. However, you also don’t want to sell products with wildly different viscosity levels. While a consumer can’t usually tell the difference between 4000 and 6000 cps, they can tell a difference between 4000 and 25,000 cps. You want to set the specification such that it is wide enough that you don’t need to make batch adjustments, but narrow enough that consumers can’t tell a difference.

    Only through multiple batch making will you be able to determine what the best range should be.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 6, 2024 at 2:38 pm in reply to: How to work with Bakuchiol, alpha arbutin and kojic acid

    Disagreement in science is good! It is difficult to have an experience where you come to a conclusion about what is going on and not feel compelled to accept the explanation.

    But I’m reminded of a Feynman quote about science and discovering what’s true.

    The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.

    Bakuchiol may very well have positive effects that are beyond what a moisturizer could provide. But without scientific, blinded, controlled studies, I remain skeptical.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 6, 2024 at 8:22 am in reply to: How to work with Bakuchiol, alpha arbutin and kojic acid

    That was an excellent reply and I’m very glad you linked a study that has convinced you. But in my view, this study is nothing more than an academic exercise with the sole purpose of generating a marketing story for brands & companies that use Bakuchiol in their products.

    Before I get into the details, lest you think I’m just a cynic, there is a very simple study that could be conducted to demonstrate Bakuchiol (or any other anti-aging active ingredient) is effective.

    The study that should be done

    First, get a group of at least 100 people. Then give 50 of them an excellent moisturizer with no special active ingredients in it. Just standard emollients, humectants, occlusives, etc. Make it smell and feel great. Then give another 50 people that same formula but with the 1.5% Bakuchiol or any other active in there. Then, on a blinded basis, have the people use the product for 3 months and report back on the results. If the test group reported better satisfaction then Hurray! We’re on our way to proving something useful. This is such a simple study it makes me wonder…why hasn’t someone done this?

    I’ll tell you why. Because if they did this, they would not get any positive results. People just don’t notice differences that these ingredients are claiming to affect.

    What does the study you linked do?

    Instead of running the test I suggested above they first try to prove Bakuchiol is an antioxidant, and they do. I say…So what? Why should a consumer care that Bakuchiol is an antioxidant just like thousands of other materials they could use?

    They tested “wound healing” which is a drug effect so not a cosmetic, but ok, they did a half face study comparing Bakuchiol to NO treatment. Why not compare it to a good moisturizer? Because if they did, they would have gotten no positive results.

    Then they look at proteins and genetic markers and report all these things and again I’m left saying…so what?

    Where is the study that looks specifically at the way you are going to use the product?

    It doesn’t exist. My contention is that it is such a simple study to run they either…

    1. Ran the study and didn’t have any positive data to share

    2. Didn’t run the study because they don’t really want to learn that it doesn’t do anything more than a moisturizer.

    This is exactly how research works in the cosmetic industry. It is not real science because it’s not done to find out what is true. It is done to verify what the researchers want to be true.

  • Perry44

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 24, 2024 at 7:44 am in reply to: Introducing Cosmex AI - AI Productivity Tools For Cosmetic Chemists

    I was trying to use this yesterday and keep getting a 404 error. Is the service coming back?

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