[Richard]

I would get rid of NaCl. While I like Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, it is not going to add anything to a thick product as it provides no thickening so I would get rid of that also. I would also add both liquid preservatives post emulsification and also after the pH has been adjusted. I would start by swapping the Stearic Acid and GMS % around, although I expect that will be too much Stearic acid. Perhaps Stearic around 5% and maybe 1% of a non ionic emulsifier of your choice (but not ILC). Once you have emulsified the oil and water you will need to adjust the pH up, with whatever you use (NaOH or something similarly basic). You are going to want the final pH around 7 +/-0.5.

[Richard]

I would say your SLES level is ok, I would increase the Betaine, through trials that you can run, to somewhere north of 20%. Remove the salt and add that later. Make sure whatever preservative you are using is 2.5 times higher than the final product.

[Richard]

I agree with the earlier comments especially from ozgirl, Iselux is a fantastic alternative, although it is in a cost league of it’s own. pH is also important for SCI and doesn’t like to be below 6. I would reduce the SCI to 1% and replace it with something else that you have - 2% of 50% glucoside for 1% SCI.

[Richard]

With 80% glycerin, have you checked to see if you even need to preserve it?

What functionality does L argine have except to help raise the pH in the wrong direction?

All the ingredients are likely to stimulate blood flow, but you will definitely need to be careful about how much you add. So check the SDS information on hazards generated. And with such a low water content, how soluble will the various ingredients be?

[Richard]

Stearyl Alcohol would be my guess

[Richard]

have a look at sclerotium, algin, hydroxypropyl guar

[Richard]

Depends if you want same INCI or performance. If you want same INCI then can do them individually or if want very similar Evident has Emulgiza lite which has one ingredient different.

[Richard]

Try removing the cationics. I expect not compatible with SF2

[Richard]

The other one that could be causing it is Sodium Phytate which can precipitate out again once the pH drops to around 5 or lower.

Oops, I’m thinking of sodium anisate so ignore my comment.

• This reply was modified 6 months, 3 weeks ago by  Richard.

[Richard]

I have not played with it in this type of formulation but I think I would still try it using a modified method of heating the silicone up to around 60C and then stop heating and add the Trihydroxystearin and mix while it dissolves and cools.

[Richard]

I’ve come across the same issue before and had to move away from certain materials for this same reason. And yes 3% is where the Eye Corrosive classification passes on the product. Best you find some eye irritants only.

[Richard]

It’s a bit hard to offer much advice as you don’t specify the type of product you are making. Is it all oils, is it an emulsion.

The way I would handle it would be as below.

1 Leave it out of the oil phase while the oil phase is heated. Melt everything that needs to melt up to (presumably 70C) so don’t go too high, just as high as you need to keep the temperature as low as possible. Once everything is melted add the Trihydroxystearin and let it melt into the oil phase while mixing. Not homogenising, just mixing. Then proceed as normal for an emulsion.

2 Add Mica into oil phase.

3 Depends on what you are adding and whether it is O/W or W/O.

[Richard]

You could try 0.2-0.5% SF-75H (hydrogenated lecithin) from the same manufacturer as the Xanthan gums.

[Richard]

For this type of product I think you need to consider a high melting point wax (Rice, Sunflower, Carnauba etc) also and not rely on just the one wax. I think you will get a better and more stable product.

[Richard]

The two preservatives you mention should product against yeast/mould. But i certainly would not consider them effective for broad spectrum. Since the sodium acrylates copolymer is the “emulsifier” it has to be neutralised to around 6 or more. At this pH these will not offer much efficacy. I suggest you check the pH of the product. Also I am not sure what is being used to adjust the pH, but first check the pH and they may tell you something.

[Richard]

Remove the urea and reduce surfactant level. Urea is going to keep the pH up anyway.

[Richard]

Have a look at Rheobyk-7590 which I found quite easy to use and gave a nice, soft oil gel.

[Richard]

SCI is not likely to thicken your product but in this system it is likely to be a problem at high levels, by going solid/white in the cold and clearer in the warm and also dropping out. I haven’t worked with these high levels before so I am only guessing, so I suggest you try it. But my preference remains a glucoside.

[Richard]

Yes I can see that will be a problem. Perhaps if you reduce both the SLES and Cocamidopropylbetaine and replace with a glucoside, but not Lauryl Glucoside. This will keep your foam level up and should not contribute to thickening of the base. But it will be trial and error and you will need to see how the end product performs in terms of thickening. I would start with 10% glucoside and removing 5% each of SLES and the betaine and see how that goes. And then you can go up or down.

[Richard]

You can try Berg & Schmidt. I didn’t get notified of any supply issues but they had a big MOQ if I recall correctly.

[Richard]

No I had no luck with small quantities. I did get some prices from some of the manufacturers but pack size ranged from 5-50kg which was far too much at the price they were asking. So Sunflower Hydrogenated Lecithin is now consigned to the never likely to be used ingredients.

[Richard]

I am not from America but New Zealand and do not big quantity, I already saw this on Making Cosmetics but it does not appear to be a straight swap and only handles a smaller amount of alcohol. I have checked everywhere i can think of.

[Richard]

Normal stability should be enough to determine stability with samples at ambient and elevated. With lecithins you should probably aim your your pH for the top end of the spec because it will probably drop by 0.5-0.8 units. And where possible, do stability in the final packaging material also.

FYI, I just disposed of some hydrogenated lecithin emulsions today that were 4 years old and still in good condition so lecithin derivatives are fine to use.

[Richard]

It is possible to get stable products with hydrogenated lecithin but always you will need to do some preliminary stability work.

[Richard]

Try contacting AS Harrison in Auckland as they are the agents for Inolex who have a number of similar conditioning agents.