Forum Replies Created

Page 133 of 184
  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 21, 2017 at 9:45 pm in reply to: When your competitors are Liars and Cheats

    @diycosmetics - thanks for your perspective. I think one of the objections of many chemists in this thread is that iron oxides just aren’t natural but many companies market them as such.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 21, 2017 at 5:39 pm in reply to: Emcol E-607-S and Emcol E-607

    I’m not familiar but I did find reference to Emcol E-607S and Emcol E-607L

    It’s not PEG-60 Castor Oil however.

    From former chemical supplier Witco 

    Emcol E-607S - Steapyrium Chloride
    Emcol E-607L - Lapyrium Chloride

    Found in this book on Cosmetic Formulations.

    More info on those ingredients here.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 21, 2017 at 12:16 pm in reply to: Formulation help

    @pradeep - I’d suggest you see this discussion about salicylic acid
    https://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticsciencetalk/discussion/comment/15149/

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 20, 2017 at 10:35 pm in reply to: Troubleshooting - magnesium stearate

    Here is what @DRBOB@VERDIENT.BIZ means by a knock-out experiment.  
    https://chemistscorner.com/do-you-know-the-fastest-way-to-become-an-expert-cosmetic-formulator/

    Essentially, you make a series of batches leaving out one ingredient. Then you see what happens to the final formula.

    I would think the Plant Oil would be your “solvent”

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 20, 2017 at 2:51 pm in reply to: virgin aloevera gel

    What is “virgin aloe vera gel”?   What is it supposed to do?

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 20, 2017 at 12:52 pm in reply to: virgin aloevera gel

    You may have to clarify what you are asking.  
    What is a “virgin aloe vera gel”?  Is there a product on the market called that?  
    What formula are you using currently?
    What characteristics do you want to make better than the current formula?

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 20, 2017 at 12:47 pm in reply to: Looking for a poor man’s mixer/blender (< $100)

    @Bernie_X - What size batch are you making? It looks so small.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 19, 2017 at 9:56 pm in reply to: FDA Cosmetic/Drug warning Letter

    Interesting. At least people now know the FDA monitors websites.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 19, 2017 at 3:16 pm in reply to: Looking for a poor man’s mixer/blender (< $100)

    A 40C water bath might work. You have to test it and see.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 19, 2017 at 1:09 pm in reply to: proven hair growth formula

    My 25% figure was based on my memory of studies.  In looking up the published research I see I was not correct.  

    The effectiveness of Minoxidil is more like ~60%. This is based on a 1 year observational study of 984 men.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 19, 2017 at 1:05 pm in reply to: Looking for a poor man’s mixer/blender (< $100)

    The answer depends on what you are making the formulas for.

    If you are making product that you wish to sell, then neither the mixer your using or a stick blender would be appropriate.  A stick blender is strictly a hobbiest tool.

    If you are just making product you want to use for yourself, you can probably just keep using what you’re using. But you need to make larger batches than 40 or 50g.  At minimum you should be making 400 - 500 g batches.  You can put the finished product in a warm water bath overnight to let the air bubbles resolve.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 19, 2017 at 12:40 pm in reply to: Looking for a cosmetic chemist freelancer to formulate foundation for my startup biz

    And those essential oils are some of the worst offenders when it comes to allergens.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 16, 2017 at 4:08 pm in reply to: proven hair growth formula

    No, this does not exist.

    The only proven topical treatment is minoxidil and it only works for about 25% of people. 

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 13, 2017 at 2:06 pm in reply to: Thickening properties of cetyl alcohol

    Yes, testing a placebo (blinded) is an important check to see if ingredients are really doing something or we’re just fooling ourselves. 

    When investigating facts, ideas and whether something is true, Richard Feynman said it best…

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

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 13, 2017 at 12:52 pm in reply to: Thickening properties of cetyl alcohol

    @Doreen81 - I’m curious, how do you know your anti irritants are having any effect?

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 12, 2017 at 9:17 pm in reply to: Use of botanical extracts in haircare products

    My guess…no, they aren’t doing anything.  But you should test as others have said to be sure.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 12, 2017 at 12:22 pm in reply to: Formulation help

    You might find our free report helpful. http://startacosmeticline.com

    But I agree with @johnb. If you are going to start a cosmetic line creating the product is not nearly as important as creating a story and finding customers who want to buy it.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 8, 2017 at 9:44 pm in reply to: dish wash thickness

    Did you do a salt curve analysis?

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 6, 2017 at 9:27 pm in reply to: chemphobia ammo

    Imagine if “natural” cosmetic marketers had to label what is actually in their products rather then just putting names like “jojoba oil”, “aloe vera gel” or “blueberry extract.” Ingredient lists would be unwieldy. 

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 6, 2017 at 4:42 pm in reply to: Formulating for the Vagina

    The only conclusions you can make at this point is that one of your products is stable for 5 days at 55C and two of them aren’t.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 6, 2017 at 3:45 pm in reply to: Formulating for the Vagina

    No.  This isn’t a proper stability test. You can’t test a formula for 5 days at any temperature to predict a year or even 6 months of stability.

    Also, 45C for 2 months (8 weeks) is indicative of 1 year.

    There is no super short cut for stability testing.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 5, 2017 at 1:21 pm in reply to: Thickening properties of cetyl alcohol

    That depends on what’s in the whole formula. The structure of cetyl alcohol in a system depends on  many factors. However, sometimes it takes time for thickening to occur.  Cetyl alcohol is not a good thickener compared to other things like HEC, Carbomers, etc.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 1, 2017 at 7:38 pm in reply to: Dimethicone - Long term side effects? Wrinkles?

    I’ve never seen any evidence that silicones would have this negative effect.  Sounds like more fear marketing by “natural” brands.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 30, 2017 at 2:14 pm in reply to: Does heating destroy Aloe Vera’s properties?

    At best Aloe is a humectant / moisturizing ingredient so heating to temperatures below the BP of water won’t have any negative effect.

  • OldPerry

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    May 26, 2017 at 12:40 pm in reply to: Liquid Nitrogen in Thermal Water

    @johnb - most hairsprays use DME because it has a good tolerance for water. This was required to meet the California VOC regulations of 55%.  It probably wasn’t used more previously because it is more expensive than other propellants.

Page 133 of 184