[Soso]

@MarkBroussard thank you for your reply. When I remove the oil from the formula I end up with a large white patch on my underarms. As a customer, I wouldn’t want to buy a product that leaves white marks like that. 

For Sepigel, I tried many natural emulsifiers prior to that and none offered a good stability. I don’t have much choice due to the PH of the formula. I ordered one last natural emulsifier to try called GaleHemp (INCI: Polyglyceryl-4 Hemp Seedate (and) Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside (and) Water) hopefully that will work.

For the preservative, my chemist and I went through the whole list of available preservatives, again the PH of the formula is a big challenge so could not find anything else that would work. If you know if any natural and strong preservatives that would work with a PH of 10/11 I would appreciate your input.

I did not feel there was much difference between 8% and 12% magnesium but will retrial with a higher percentage of magnesium and see.

Finally, Yes I would love to add other water soluble actives, would you be able to share which ones you have in mind? The only one I can think of (I have little knowledge - I am not a chemist) is Undecylenoyl Glycine. 

Again thank you all for your precious help

[Soso]

@Perry thank you very much for your input. You are correct, I would like the performance of a synthetic formula but with natural ingredients which is a great challenge to achieve. Most ingredients I listed have natural alternatives (which I ordered and hopefully will soon start trialling with) except the preservative due to the PH of magnesium. 

[Soso]

Thank you guys. Here is the formula (cold emulsion)
@Rafacasti, I don’t think it can get cheaper than this but happy to consider other options.

Water 80.5%
Magnesium Hydroxide 8%
Jojoba oil 4%
Cyclopentasiloxane 4%
Sepigel 2% (Emulsifier)
Preservative 1% (Phenoxyethanol,Ethylhexylglycerin)
Essential oils 0.5%

Note:

- I added D5 for fast drying to avoid using ethanol, however as it’s not natural, I would appreciate any other suggestions you have.

- Jojoba is added to tackle the residues left by the magnesium.

- Sepigel is not natural but does a fab job, much better than Xanthan.

- I kept total oils to a minimum as the more oils the thicker the formula but yet, it is still too thick and leaves a lot of product when applied on the armpits.